Meet the darling buds of Marimekko 

Playing with colours, textures and souped-up prints, Marimekko has always been renowned for its bold portfolio. From paisley swirls to psychedelic prints and bold dopamine-inducing technicolour, the sentiments for the Finnish brand have always been honouring the tradition of developing art. So, it’s no surprise that they looked to intricate blooms as the theme for all of their craftsmanship this year. With the likes of tableware, ready-to-wear, small accessories and handbags, the design house has produced pieces that dance with vitality, brimmed with emotions and a breathtaking symphony of colour. 

Creating a perfect backdrop for these novelty pieces is the dynamic store at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Embodying a striking command of colour, unique materials and creative silhouettes, the new store acts as the perfect visual identity of what Marimekko is as a brand today. “The new experiential retail concept is quintessentially a reflection of Marimekko’s design thinking, inviting participation and engagement through experience and bold yet functional design elements. We are excited to continue our chapter in Malaysia with our updated and modern take on the joyful Marimekko lifestyle brand that reflects our rich design heritage through a fresh lens”, said Natacha Defrance, Senior Vice President, Sales, Region East at Marimekko.

To liven up people’s mood even more, the Finnish house is even hosting a pop-up exhibition in Pavilion itself, in celebration of the new concept store opening. Whimsical, bright and bold, the Field of Flowers exhibition is bringing a garden of delights with a spectacle of new floral print designs in collaboration with five contemporary artists—Erja Hirvi, Masaru Suzuki, Aino-Maija Metsola, Antti Kekki and Eija Vehviläinen. Mirroring the splendour of the garden, the exhibition showcases a marvellous fabric installation and limited-edition Marimekko products. Skipping conventions and going for a bouquet of blooms, Marimekko illustrates the poetry of beauty, joy and colour at this exhibition. From tote bags to coin purses, cushion covers and postcards, you’ll find traditional and modern framework of artisanal pieces that can transcend generations and seasons.  The pop-up exhibition will run from 22 – 27 April at Level 2, Pavilion Centre Court, and it’s such an awe-inspiring spectacle you can’t miss out on. 

We even had the privilege of speaking to the visionary behind the brand, and creative director Rebekka Bay to ask her insights into the inspiration behind ‘Fields of Flowers’, the brand itself and her unwavering commitment to the brand’s identity. 

Take a look at our exclusive interview with Rebekka Bay, Creative Director of Marimekko: 

Define Marimekko 

Marimekko is one of the world’s first lifestyle brands. We’re from Finland and we wanted to bring joy to people’s everyday life through bold and colourful prints. We wanted to create wearable art. 

You’re here for the Field of Flowers exhibition. Tell us more about the concept, inspiration and meaning behind it. 

Last year, while we were celebrating our most celebrated pattern, the Unikko, we had this idea of wanting to do a follow-up celebration of lesser-known flowers from our archive. We suddenly realised that there was an opportunity for us to develop a new generation of floral prints and to do that in a way that was not immediately applying the print to product, but honouring the art for the sake of the art, which is of course not something you get to do often in a commercial context. 

I think the most meaningful part is to have an opportunity to celebrate the print for the prints before we start applying them to a product. So pulling them out of the context of them having to be functional or commercial or useful, but just celebrating them for what they are and having the opportunity to print these large pieces of textiles and sort of create an exhibition versus a collection, I think that is meaningful. 

The Field of Flowers is an opportunity for us to really deliberately build the future of Marimekko as well as celebrate the past. 

Could you tell us more about the five artists who collaborated on this exhibition? 

It was, of course, hard to narrow down to five artists or print designers. But what we all had in common was that we all loved flowers as a subject. It wasn’t a selection based on age or gender or location, but more based on their love for flowers as a subject, and also wanting to allow them to translate that. I think our translation of florals is often more conceptually or abstractly, but it can also be literal. And what these five artists have in common is that they sort of span that space of both concept and literal. Four of the artists we collaborated with were some we had worked with before, and only one is entirely new. 

In the future, is Marimekko open to exploring future collaborations with emerging Malaysian artists?

Yes, of course. Sometimes I just find them on Instagram, and I write them a message, and I go, like, hi. That’s literally what I do. So, yeah, I’d love to work with any artists. 

Marimekko is all about bold and big prints. Have there been times when you’ve gotten stuck and had a lack of inspiration for developing more prints? 

We have an archive of more than 3,500 prints, so we’re constantly inspired by the past and the present pieces. I think the bigger question is, how do we actually select the prints we want to work with? And, the answer to that question is, we deliberately create a theme each year, create the framework for the prints and work with different prints and designers. 

When adapting prints for clothing, tote bags, home essentials—especially for the global market, including Malaysia— what kinds of adjustments are typically made in terms of style, colour, or even product shape?

It really depends on the person. Sometimes you’re more attracted to bold colours and prints, and then over time, you grow to love subtle or less obvious prints. But, I’ve seen that Malaysia really gravitates towards bolder, more joyful colourways. 

On top of the Field of Flowers series, if you could give a Marimekko item to your friend, what would it be?

You know what I want to give someone? I want to give them a tour of our printing mill because, first of all, I love to see how things are made. Watching a print being printed is probably the most meditative thing to see. You can literally see the different colours being laid on—you’re seeing it being made in front of you. So that’s what I would give.

Lastly, do you have a message you would like to share with all the Marimekko fans in Malaysia?

Yeah, I think the message to the Malaysian readers would be that we are really excited to be in Malaysia now. We are still new to this market, and we hope that the Field of Flowers exhibition will help Malaysians experience Marimekko through something other than a product: the art of printmaking. 

Discover more about Marimekko here or explore their work of art on their Instagram.