Finnish Fashion Rediscovered

We’ve made no secret of the fact that we just can’t get enough of Samu-Jussi Koski’s designs for Marimekko so it’s no surprise that we love the Autumn/Winter collection that’s currently in stores. Together with Mika Piirainen and Ritva Falla, Samu-Jussi continues to bring the brand back to life, by literally translating Marimekko's designs from their 60’s peak into relevant fashion for today.

Samu-Jussi Koski has once again dedicated his collection to the Mari Girl of the 21st century whilst continuing to delve into Marimekko’s design archive of the last century. Some of the design treasures rediscovered by Samu-Jussi include Maija and Kristina Isola’s dotted Kiss-kiss from 1982, Annika Rimala’s impressive Laine from 1965 and Katsuji Wakisaka's Karuselli print from 1973.

Mika Piirainen's collection is a tribute to the work of Maija Isola, Marimekko's legendary print designer. The highlight of the new collection is Rosetta, a variation on Maija Isola's Krysanteemi design from 1959. Apparently inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo, Piirainen has dramatically recolored the naturalistic floral to give it a modern twist.

Ritva Falla’s autumn collection is characterized by a rich play of contrasts. Dandy-style suits of the 1970s meet the feminine cuts of the 1930s. Black, white and grey dominate, with bold stripes of green and dramatic blocks of red. Take a look below to see some of our favorites from the Autumn/Winter 08 collection and to read a brief profile of the designers:

Autumn/Winter 2008 Designers

Samu-Jussi Koski, who graduated as a fashion designer from the Lahti Institute of Design, designed his first Marimekko collection for the spring of 2005. He had previously worked at Marimekko as an assistant to the fashion designer Ritva Falla.

A graduate of the Lahti Institute of Design, Mika Piirainen has designed for Marimekko since 1994. Over the years, his versatile collections have included clothing for women, men and children and a variety of accessories, such as bags, hats, clogs and umbrellas.

Fashion designer Ritva Falla has become known for creating Marimekko’s elegant business-wear line. She joined Marimekko on a full-time basis in 1997.

Marimekko Corporation

Marimekko was founded in 1951 by Armi and Viljo Ratia, when Armi asked some artist friends to apply their graphic designs to textiles. In order to show how the fabric could be used, the company then designed and sold a line of simple dresses using their fabric. In the mid 1960's, Crate and Barrel began a relationship with Marimekko, which continues to this day, utilizing their designs on products sold in their stores. Sadly, Armi Ratia died in 1979, which was the beginning of difficult times in Marimekko and eventually the company was sold to Amer-yhtymä in 1985. By the beginning of the 1990s, Marimekko was close to bankruptcy but the company was bought by Kirsti Paakkanen, who is credited with saving the company through the introduction of new business practices. By 2005, revenue had quadrupled and net income grown 200-fold. Kirsti Paakkanen was succeeded as President and CEO in February 2008 by Mika Ihamuotila.

Marimekko

Comments

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