Worn by Carrie Bradshaw, Jackie Kennedy and now at IKEA: this cheerful Finnish label from the seventies is back in | Nina

Who says Marimekko, says striking prints. In the form of large spheres, stripes, pieces of fruit or flowers. They decorate teacups, plates, shoes, clothes, diaries and so on. An entire universe bursting with joie de vivre. It is also what attracted Henrik Most, creative director at IKEA, the most when he started collaborating with the iconic Finnish label. “Marmekko always makes me so happy. It radiates so much optimism and warmth.”

That urge for cheerfulness was very typical of Marimekko from the very beginning, about seventy years ago. We are in 1951 and the post-war years were hard in Finland. The economy was in the doldrums and there was enormous scarcity throughout the country.

Armi Ratia – herself a war refugee – wanted to bring some joy to the lives of her compatriots with everyday objects. Her husband had just bought an oilcloth company and she gathered a group of young artists and designers to develop prints for it.

Only success was not forthcoming. Until Ratia came up with the idea of ​​turning it into dresses and organizing a fashion show. The bold colors and liberating silhouettes of the dresses were such a hit that audiences nearly pulled them off the models. The day after she founded Marimekko, which means ‘Mary’s dress’ in Finnish. Ratia thus became Finland’s first businesswoman and a true bosslady who fought for equal rights for men and women — even before Women’s Day.

Marimekko also enjoyed success in the 1960s and 1970s. Partly thanks to Jackie Kennedy, who bought seven dresses in one go and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with her husband in one of them. A Marimekko dress became the uniform for the academic elite worldwide.

The designs were also appreciated by the crowned heads of Europe. Both Princess Margaret, the glamorous sister of the late Queen, and Princess Caroline of Monaco were spotted in it. And then there was Carrie Bradshaw out Sex and the City, which gave Marimekko’s sales a serious boost. There are now 150 stores worldwide. In the last two years they also made four collections with Adidas and two with Uniqlo.

Brands with whom Marimekko collaborates can eagerly pick from their archive, which now contains more than 3500 prints. One is a bit busier than the other. New ones are added all the time – up to forty a year. And all of them are still printed in Helsinki.

For the first time in their history, they also made a series of unique prints for another brand, and that honor fell to IKEA. For the BASTUA wellness collection, with a nod to the Scandinavian sauna culture and no less than 26 items, there is, for example, a print that is reminiscent of the wooden beams of a sauna.

But the most popular motif will undoubtedly be the striking rhubarb leaf. That plant grows luxuriantly next to the saunas in the Finnish countryside. At Marimekko they call it ‘a future iconic print’. A symbol of optimism and joy.

Perhaps that is the explanation for the current revival of the Finnish brand, and why labels such as IKEA are collaborating with it. Just like Armi Ratia at the time, we now live again in times of scarcity and malaise. “More than ever, we need optimism and beauty,” says Marimekko’s creative director Rebekka Bay.

“We still want to make people’s lives more fun and put a smile on their faces.” A piece by Marimekko as an antidote to all the misery that surrounds us. It won’t change the world, but never underestimate the power of color. Or a rhubarb print.

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