MARIMEKKO PLC
THE ILMASSA INTERIOR TEXTILE COLLECTION
(KASSIOPEIA, PÄÄSKY, KUISKAAJA)
Design: Maija Louekari 2005, 2006
Marimekko has continuously taken note of young designers, giving them opportunities for creative work. The technically demanding and multidimensional patterns of the fabrics have been developed in cooperation with the professionals of the company’s fabric-printing press.
Marimekko is a company known by everyone in Finland. For decades, the Finnish lifestyle has included Marimekko clothes, T-shirts, bags and accessories – and in particular its innumerable, original, bold and individual fabrics, some of which have even become icons of Finnish design.
In 2004 Marimekko invested in a new fabric printing press. Employing the latest technology, the machinery can print longer designs than previously, and up to 12 colours. Production has gradually been diversified through the collaboration of designers and the professionals of the fabric press.
The ideas for new fabric designs are first created on the designer’s drawing board. The designers are given free rein to develop ideas - sometimes the patterns can be very hard to realize. Patterns and models suitable for printing are then developed together with the professionals of the manufacturing process. Technical problems are regarded more as challenges and inspiration for learning than obstacles.
For the early days of the company, young designers have played a significant role at Marimekko. One of them is Maija Louekari, who designed the Ilmassa collection. These prize-winning textiles represent a bold and original line in Marimekko’s range of products. With their multi-dimensional designs resembling drawings or paintings and large planes of colour, they are both interior textiles and textile art. The pattern repeats of the fabrics are exceptionally long, up to two metres, and they are demanding with regard to printing technology.
The expressive fabrics are a positive exception in the Finnish tradition of printed fabrics. Maija Louekari’s earlier designs for Marimekko were widely noted, even abroad. The prize jury felt that Marimekko took a bold step by including in its range of products fabrics clearly intended for the international market.
Marimekko Plc
Puusepänkatu 4, FI-00880 Helsinki
Tel. (09) 758 71
Fax (09) 755 3051
info@marimekko.fi
www.marimekko.fi
Tiina Alahuhta and Maija Louekari