Hello!

I’m excited to show you this, the Finnish language edition of my book. Even though I knew it was coming, I wasn’t expecting how thrilling it would be to see my words in another language, especially one as exotic as this.

Speaking of things Finnish, if you love textiles, you’ll love this book. Mekko is an old Finnish word meaning “little girls’ dress”, so Marimekko means Mary-dress. It’s an apt name for a company that became famous for a look which, although criticized by the mainstream fashion world for being too plain-jane and “folksy”, actually had wide appeal to young women who wanted to get away from the traditional image of “feminine woman” as brought to us by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot. Their dresses, derided by some as “sacks”, were loved by young women who wanted to be seen but not ogled. Started by a woman in the 1950s, the company became well known for its fresh look, graphic prints and clothing designs in simple shapes. I suspect they might have influenced Mary Quant.

Here are a few images from the book, which inspires on many levels; it’s about design, pattern, architecture, fashion and the development of a brand.

 

I love this gigantic print, and the way it’s photographed.

 

classic Marimekko “sack” dress and accessories to match

 

 a lovely big, bold stripe

a 1966 print used in a 2003 dress

the Bo-Boo pattern designed in 1975 by Katsuji Wakisaka and still popular for kids’ rooms today

there’s yarn in her basket

 

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2012 at 6:21 pm and is filed under books, fashion, inspiration, textiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.