Marimekko is a Finnish company based in Helsinki that has made important contributions to fashion, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. They are particularly noted for brightly-colored printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings.
Marimekko was first introduced to the United States by the architect Benjamin C. Thompson, who featured them heavily in his Design Research stores. They were made famous in the United States by Jacqueline Kennedy, who bought eight Marimekko dresses which she wore throughout the 1960 US Presidential campaign.
In the mid 1960's, Crate and Barrel began a relationship with Marimekko, which continues to this day, utilizing their designs on textiles sold in their stores. Crate and Barrel also uses Marimekko patterns as display backdrops in their stores to add color and seasonality.
By 1965, the company employed over 400, and the company was in every aspect of fine design, from fabrics to toys, dinnerware, even completely equipped small houses. That year, Armi Ratia told Pan Am's Clipper magazine that she was "against success--it is a sick word. Too many side effects." In the interview by R.E. Smallman, she also said that she did not like "hats, corsets. There is almost no more bra or even pants--no elegant woman will wear stockings, perhaps even no shoes. The world changes quickly, and this is expression of the new society."
In 1985, the company was sold to Amer-yhtymä. In the beginning of the 1990s, Marimekko was in a bad financial condition and was considered ready for bankruptcy. It was then bought from Amer by Kirsti Paakkanen, who introduced new business methods in the company and is generally seen as having saved Marimekko.
Later on the 90's Marimekko achieved publicity in the hit series Sex and the City. The fictional main character of the series, sex-and-relationship columnist Carrie Bradshaw, wore a Marimekko bikini on the season 2 and later on, a Marimekko dress. On the fifth season the series also introduced tablecloths with Marimekko prints.
In 2005, Marimekko's revenue had quadrupled since Paakkanen's purchase, and its net income grown 200-fold. Kirsti Paakkanen remained CEO of Marimekko and owned 20 % of the company via her business Workidea. In 2007, Paakkanen announced she would gradually hand over her ownership to Mika Ihamuotila, who will be the new CEO and biggest owner of the company.
In 2007, Marimekko began opening individually-owned Marimekko Concept Stores in the United States and Canada. Currently there are stores located in New York, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Oxford, Mississippi; Miami, Florida; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Marimekko name has been adopted within business and the management consultancy industry to refer to a bar chart where all the bars are of equal height, there are no spaces between the bars, and the bars are in turn each divided into segments of different height. The design of the 'marimekko' chart is said to resemble a Marimekko print.
History
Marimekko was founded in 1951 by Viljo and Armi Ratia, after the former's oilcloth factory project failed and was converted to a garment plant. 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. It came as an early recognition of fashion as an industrial art and of Marimekko's role in the process when Finland's leading industrial designer Timo Sarpaneva invited the company to present a fashion show (albeit canceled at short notice) at the 1957 Triennale in Milan. The garments were eventually showcased in the nearby Rinascente upscale department store under its then store display manager Giorgio Armani.Marimekko was first introduced to the United States by the architect Benjamin C. Thompson, who featured them heavily in his Design Research stores. They were made famous in the United States by Jacqueline Kennedy, who bought eight Marimekko dresses which she wore throughout the 1960 US Presidential campaign.
In the mid 1960's, Crate and Barrel began a relationship with Marimekko, which continues to this day, utilizing their designs on textiles sold in their stores. Crate and Barrel also uses Marimekko patterns as display backdrops in their stores to add color and seasonality.
By 1965, the company employed over 400, and the company was in every aspect of fine design, from fabrics to toys, dinnerware, even completely equipped small houses. That year, Armi Ratia told Pan Am's Clipper magazine that she was "against success--it is a sick word. Too many side effects." In the interview by R.E. Smallman, she also said that she did not like "hats, corsets. There is almost no more bra or even pants--no elegant woman will wear stockings, perhaps even no shoes. The world changes quickly, and this is expression of the new society."
In 1985, the company was sold to Amer-yhtymä. In the beginning of the 1990s, Marimekko was in a bad financial condition and was considered ready for bankruptcy. It was then bought from Amer by Kirsti Paakkanen, who introduced new business methods in the company and is generally seen as having saved Marimekko.
Later on the 90's Marimekko achieved publicity in the hit series Sex and the City. The fictional main character of the series, sex-and-relationship columnist Carrie Bradshaw, wore a Marimekko bikini on the season 2 and later on, a Marimekko dress. On the fifth season the series also introduced tablecloths with Marimekko prints.
In 2005, Marimekko's revenue had quadrupled since Paakkanen's purchase, and its net income grown 200-fold. Kirsti Paakkanen remained CEO of Marimekko and owned 20 % of the company via her business Workidea. In 2007, Paakkanen announced she would gradually hand over her ownership to Mika Ihamuotila, who will be the new CEO and biggest owner of the company.
In 2007, Marimekko began opening individually-owned Marimekko Concept Stores in the United States and Canada. Currently there are stores located in New York, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Oxford, Mississippi; Miami, Florida; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Marimekko name has been adopted within business and the management consultancy industry to refer to a bar chart where all the bars are of equal height, there are no spaces between the bars, and the bars are in turn each divided into segments of different height. The design of the 'marimekko' chart is said to resemble a Marimekko print.
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