Product Description

Founded in 1951 by visionary textile designer Armi Ratia and her husband, Viljo, the Marimekko Corporation in Finland not only sparked a revolution in pattern making but also pioneered a new definition of fashion that embraced the entire home environment. This book-the first comprehensive study of Marimekko designs-presents more than one hundred examples of the exuberant Marimekko fashions and home furnishings that gave the company a definitive presence on the world design stage. The book considers the history of the company from its founding through today and examines Marimekko's impact on design in Finland and around the world. The company's most important designers, including Maija Isola and Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi, their contributions, and their stylistic development are also discussed. In addition, the book examines Marimekko home and office interiors and how they reflected the lifestyle envisioned in Armi Ratia's broad, radical definition of fashion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66350 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The Finnish design house Marimekko has been producing fashion and lifestyle accessories since 1951, and its fresh, high-spirited motifs have influenced designers around the world. This vivid, eye-opening book showcases the firm's history, designers and textile patterns, and examines both Marimekko's international reception and the reasons for its corporate success. Design historian Aav, who directs the Finnish Museum of Art and Design in Helsinki, credits Marimekko's success to visionary leadership and a corporate philosophy based on individual creativity and the connection between design and everyday life. Cheeky and brightly colored, Marimekko designs have been embraced by such paragons of simple design as Crate & Barrel and Terence Conran's popular furniture shop Habitat, and have landed on the covers of fashion magazines worldwide. Aav's selection of essays written by journalists, design historians, architects and professors, along with her selection of full-color photos of various patterns and designs, make this a comprehensive, enlightening study of an important design firm.
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From the Publisher
This book is the catalogue for an exhibition that will open at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture in November 2003.

About the Author
Marianne Aav is design historian and director of the Finnish Museum of Art and Design, Helsinki.

Customer Reviews

a thorough tribute to a design giant
I just saw the last weekend of this show in New York at the Bard Center and it was inspired, to say the least. The book is the next best thing to being there if you are a Marimekko fan. It is a more thorough look at the company than the older title "marimekko phenomenon". The editor of this book, Marianne Aav (also the show's curator) was responsible for the 1998 show/book from the Bard Center on Finnish Modern Design. Marimekko's brave colors, shapes, and graphics are made more powerful, in my mind, by the fact that the final result appears so simple. While I mourn the lack of this in much of today's clothing/textile design, I think that the renewed excitement about Marimekko, and design in general, indicates that this is changing. There is a lot of exciting material coming out of Scandanavia and Finland by young designers right now, but Marimekko's influence on modern design cannot be underestimated. Their vision ranged beyond textiles into architecture as well, which the book illustrates. This exhibit & accompanying book have done a fine job at giving credit where it's due.

a great book for Marimekko lovers
for people who loved the marimekko thrust in the last 40 years, this is a great retrospective and a treat for the eyes. very well done. wish i was able to see the exhibit. this is probably the next best thing.

Beyond beautiful
I can't recommend this too highly, it is the definitive book about the Marimekko legend and business. But actually I just bought it for the pictures.....