Ritva Koskennurmi-Sivonen
Etusivulle
By Ritva Koskennurmi-Sivonen
Published in Form Function Finland # 82. 2001 (Original in English)
At the beginning of the 1950s a young textile artist Armi Ratia worked together with her husband Viljo Ratia, the owner of Printex Oy, in whose premises they printed cotton fabrics by hand. At the same time, Armi Ratia was a client of Riitta Immonen, a fashion artist who had established her name among Finnish couturières with her innovative ideas in the years of postwar shortage. Armi Ratia talked to the fashion artist about her fabrics and the possibilities of promoting their sales. Riitta Immonen suggested her that they would try them out as dresses. As many of the handprinted cotton fabrics had fairly large prints, a designer known for the simplicity of her designs was sure to bring out the prints to their advantage. This idea was developed and a collection was created.
The fabrics of the first collection were designed by seven textile artists: Eeva-Inkeri Tilhe, Uhra-Beata Simberg-Ehrström, Maija Lander, Ethel Broms, Per-Olof Nystöm, Björn Landström, and Elis Muona. Out of twenty-seven fabrics, ten were designed by Maija Lander. Fewer prints were included from the other artists. Armi Ratia herself and Elis Muona were in charge of the color scheme and the general composition of the collection.
Creating this experimental collection was very much like working with the unique dresses of Riitta Immonen’s own collections. The dresses were cut and sewn at her atelier, and fitted individually on each model who was to present them. Riitta Immonen gave a name to each outfit as she did with all her collections. This style was to become customary in Marimekko, too. Eventually, twenty seven outfits on six models were presented in the famous restaurant Kalastajatorppa by the sea side of Helsinki, on the 20th of May 1951. When the limousines drove in and people began to gather in the hall, Riitta Immonen felt that she was the greatest cheater in the world. She felt guilty because “so many people were coming to see the collection and they were only cotton dresses.”
This attitude reveals the low status of cotton at that time, but, nonetheless, these creations were a success without any reservations. They could hardly go unnoticed and made great news both in the newspapers and magazines. The prints and their pure, fresh colors were praised as well as the dress designs with their original details and good taste. Armi Ratia and Riitta Immonen were seen as unprejudiced and fresh, on the one hand, while bold and sophisticated, on the other.
Armi Ratia and Riitta Immonen founded Marimekko while the collection was already
being made. The articles of the company were written at the end of April, and
the company was registered on the 25th of May 1951. Mrs. Ratia and Mrs. Immonen
had fourteen shares each and their husbands one share each. In the beginning
it was not quite clear what kind of a company the newcomer was. The definition
stated in the registration about the purpose of the company reveals that the
owners were neither quite sure of what was to come nor of their aim. They left
themselves rather open possibilities by stating that the company would carry
on all sorts of production of apparels, including making to order, wholesale
and retail selling, and import and export. According to the press, the company
did not originally intend to move into mass production, but rather to handprint
only a few dresses of same color combination, which would reflect the general
aspiration for individuality, if not for uniqueness. In the very beginning the
company did make dresses to order. However, Riitta Immonen did not take part
in those designs.
The six newspapers which wrote about the collection had a somewhat differing approach to the issue of handprinted fabric. Uusi Suomi began its description as if the newcomer were a fashion salon with an emphasis on fabrics. Varkauden lehti introduced these fabrics as the renaissance of the familiar handprinting that readers already knew from the time of rationing, when white fabrics were printed by hand for different purposes. Hufvudstasbladet headed its article Noble art-craft. This highlighted best the idea of ‘made by hand’ in this enterprise. The leading newspaper of the capital, Helsingin Sanomat, had a slightly different emphasis in describing the collection as dress creations with the character of industrial art. ’Art-craft’ and ’industrial art’ are, however, by no means sharply diverging concepts in Finland. Especially at the beginning of the 1950s, when Finnish industrial art developed greatly and received international recognition, it was closely connected with hands-on work of textile and other artists.
All of the writers made it quite clear that this enterprise was featuring Finnish artists’ fabrics. All of them were also extremely enthusiastic about the entirely new style of printed designs, which “were not prettyish flowery patterns” as the business newspaper Kauppalehti put it. Or, “compared with industrial fabrics, they made a fresh and individual impression” according to Ilta-Sanomat.
The concept of individuality was dealt with some ambivalence. On the one hand, individuality was highly appreciated in Finland in general, and in the world of fashion salons in particular. On the other hand, this experiment aimed to launch industrial products of lower costs than the absolute uniqueness favoured in the Finnish fashion salons. The ambivalence of these texts can be traced back to the uncertainty of the founders of the new enterprise, as the company’s articles revealed the range of possibilities that they wished to reserve for themselves in developing their enterprise.
Ladies’ magazines Eeva and Viuhka also gave their enthusiastic support to the new enterprise. The brief editorials highlighted the artistic, handprinted fabrics and individuality of dress styles, to which Finnish women are sensitive. Rather than giving space to text, the openings were devoted to a couple of drawings and several photographs of dresses presented by models in the open air. The scenes differ from the usual setting of fashion photography of that time. Freshness of designs, casual style and intended use of these outfits, and national identity were implied in such settings as a model leaning against a birch or stepping on sea side rocks, both of which are arche examples of Finnish nature.
It is worthwhile of noting that the press reported very well the diversity of the collection, both its aspects of familiar Finnishness and exoticism. These were present both in the colour schemes of prints and in the names of the outfits, ‘Sauna path’, and ‘Coffee on the porch’ representing the former, and ‘Caramba’ and ‘Mexico’ connoting the latter. Later on, when the company grew and really started industrial production, these aspects merged and unconventional colour combinations and the ‘exotic’ became to imply the Finnishness of Marimekko.
Ironically, no one of the writers aspired an international success for Marimekko at this point. The issue of making the ‘Finnish style’ known abroad had that been entertained by the press at the of the 1940s, but it did not turn out to be successful. However, Marimekko became probably the best-known Finnish textile and clothing company abroad, but it was not foreseen at all in the whirls of the first enthusiasm.
By the time the collection was shown, the new company had been given the name Marimekko. Yet, on the invitation cards it was written with bicapitalization MariMekko Oy in an improvised manner as if lettered irregularly by hand. It was only after the foundation that Armi Ratia asked Helge Mether-Borgström, a graphic artist, to design a logo for the new company. Mether-Borgström’s design based on a well-known type-writer font but he put all letters in lower case. The seemingly simple idea turned out to be clever, fresh and, highly importantly, time resisting. It became known internationally, and is still used today.
The first couple of years were a little confusing. Armi Ratia and the employees were encouraged by the success of the first collection and excited about creating something so entirely new. Yet the production line and business idea were not quite settled. As time went on, it became clear that Marimekko would begin industrial production but retained the hand printing as its hallmark. Armi Ratia wanted Riitta Immonen to continue as the main designer. There were two reasons why Mrs. Immonen refused. Firstly, she thought that it would not be possible to go on with her own enterprise and clients in the manner she deemed suitable. This was a very important point at that particular juncture in time, when she had just been able to open her own salon in new premises. Secondly, she did not find herself capable of industrial design. She completely resigned her ownership of Marimekko in 1956. Economically this was not a wise thing to do. She realized this when the company became famous worldwide. However, she did not regret her decision, for she had kept her precious independence.
The fabrics were printed both for dresses and for interior decoration, but new names became connected with the company as new artists were in charge of designing. However, more than anyone else, throughout its first heyday in the 60s and 70s, Marimekko was connected with the name and personality of one of its creators, Armi Ratia.
Ritva Koskennurmi-Sivonen
Etusivulle