K-paper Pattern&Design

A few years ago, Finnair showcased an a350 wrapped in the Marimekko pattern. Recently there was a story on a collaboration between Uniqlo and Marimekko as well. Along with Uniqlo, many beauty and fasion companies such as Clinique and Converse collaborate with Marimekko. It is such a powerful, lovely, and popular pattern that also has rare, sophisticated Northern European features. You can see bold and cute matchings of flower patterns such as pink or yellow in spring, bright red and blue in summer, purple and brown in autumn, and olive green and orange in winter.

“The joy of everyday life”

The word “lifestyle” has recently created buzz and Marimekko has beaten other brands to be the first to make diverse products about this. To provide consumers with “the joy of everyday life,” they have made not products, but content. This is the unique and joyful “Marimekko pattern.”

This is forward thinking brand that instead of products, it thinks of “What to show,” also known as the “the Marimekko mindset.” Finland is a powerful design country and their 3 main brands are Arabia, Ittala, and Marimekkom, and among those, Marimekko is the known particularly well through many products. Marikmekko was founded in 1951 in Finland. In 1949, Armi Ratia, the wife of Viljo Ratia, who is was the president of a small textile printing company called Printex in Helsinki, Finland, attempted to provide something to women who were wearing dark, flower pattern dresses due to the lack of material after the Second World War. Later, she gathered Maija Isola and other young artists to develop a new pattern of fabric.

Daisies and other familiar flowers of northern Europe were designed to look big and cute with vibrant colors to brighten the hearts of people worn out by war. They also featured clothing and table cloths with trapezoidal lines and 100 percent cotton.
This style was worn by Jacqueline Kennedy, an eternal style icon, in 1960 and exploded in popularity.

Later Maija Isola became the head designer of printex after armi and she devised a printing method to silk screen bold and abstract patterns on low-cost cotton. She popularized the patterns after the other. In 1951, Ratia founded Marimekko, which meant “mari’s dress” or “simple, everyday clothing without unnecessary things,” to showcase printex textiles on dressing gowns and other various fashion items. This caused a revolution in patterns by showcasing bold and unique textiles, and clear lines and colors.

FINNAIR X marimekko @google

The Marimekko pattern is implemented in various products from fashion to linens and tableware. It is like pop art, and this pattern has been collaboratd with countless brands. The types are diverse including flying in the air through a Finnair flight with flower patterns and dishes that can hold delicious food.

converse X marimekko