Balancing fashion, innovation and sustainability: How Marimekko does denim  

Finnish lifestyle and design company Marimekko is renowned for its original prints and colours, but double denim is a new direction the brand has taken.

Marimekko creative director Rebekka Bay was the driving force behind this collection. Here, she shares the inspiration behind the collection, what sets it apart from other leading denim brands and how the business stays relevant in the fast-changing fashion industry.

Inside Retail: Marimekko has a strong heritage of 73 years and unique brand identity. How has the company been able to stay relevant in the fashion industry?

Rebekka Bay: There is a quote from our founder Armi Ratia that I think is a perfect description of our design philosophy, “Marimekko is not about trendy fashion. We make timeless and lasting products, which, by chance, are often very fashionable.”

While we are always aware of the surrounding and upcoming trends, and we constantly look towards the future, especially when it comes to new ways to serve, inspire, and surprise our customers, we are always looking for ‘happy contradictions.’ I think the secret to our lasting relevancy is that our design philosophy is independent from changing trends – instead, it is rooted in a joyful lifestyle and timeless functional design.

IR: What core values and principles guide Marimekko’s business strategy today?

RB: Everything we do is rooted in our mission, which has remained the same since the foundation of the company in 1951; we want to empower people to be happy as they are and bring joy to their everyday lives through bold prints and colors.

The financial results of the past years and overall increased interest in Marimekko around the world, demonstrate unique growth opportunities for us. Therefore, to build on and reinforce our proven success recipe, the objective of our current strategy period of 2023–2027 is to scale the Marimekko business and growth in international markets.  

IR: How does Marimekko balance its iconic design heritage with the need to innovate and appeal to new customer segments? 

RB: With Marimekko, we are in the fortunate position that a lot of our history is continuing to be relevant – we see that our brand’s heritage is a real asset.

When I look back at the early 1950s’, Marimekko pieces, they suit everybody and could easily have been designed today – their freeing silhouettes allow them to be worn regardless of one’s shape or size.

We are of course constantly improving, refitting, and adding new silhouettes to the collections, based on the same idea that you will be the bearer or the carrier of a piece of art. The pieces of art are found both in our vast archive of more than 3500 artworks, and counting and hrough our ongoing artist collaborations with global current talent. 

While we celebrate and draw inspiration from our heritage, we are aware for the brand to stay vibrant and desirable, it is key to ensure the brand values and philosophy are translated in a relevant way for today and tomorrow – a constant focus in our work.

IR: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the Maridenim collection?

RB: Maridenim is the missing piece in our collection – high-quality denim is a real functional, timeless, and essential wardrobe staple, whether you are dressing up or dressing down. 

Maridenim is the perfect styling companion to Marimekko’s renowned bold prints and colors.

IR: What makes this launch significant for Marimekko?

RB: While Marimekko is only now introducing denim as part of our assortment, it has had a strong link to our brand, design philosophy and clothing for years.

In the 1960s, Marimekko introduced the iconic Tasaraita (even stripe) products designed by Annika Rimala who was inspired by the increasing popularity of denim jeans at the time and designed the products as companions to them. So, in a way, this product launch has been a long time coming. 

IR: What sets Maridenim apart from other denim lines in the market? 

RB: As we entered a new product category, we wanted to set high circularity and sustainability goals for the products. For this reason, we followed The Jeans Redesign guidelines by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation in designing Marimekko Maridenim products. The guidelines are for jeans that are made to be made again and crafted from safe and recycled or renewable inputs.

On a concrete level, this means that our denim products are made of mono material cotton with no stretch, of which 80 percent is organic cotton and 20 percent recycled cotton, with minimal use of hardware, no rivets, and removable buttons. This makes recycling the products easier at the end of their long lifecycles.

In addition, the wash, finish, and chemical use of the garments follow the same guidelines, including abstaining from stone washing or the use of Potassium permanganate.

To achieve Marimekko’s famous prints, such as Unikko, on the denim, the products are laser marked and finished using ozone technology. 

IR: How did you approach the design process for Maridenim, and what factors were considered to ensure alignment with Marimekko’s brand identity? 

RB: We approached the design for Maridenim in the same way we approach all our Marimekko designs – our philosophy is rooted in an optimistic lifestyle and genuine desire to bring joy through timeless and functional design. We want to create products that are democratic, used, loved for generations to come and made to last. 

IR: What challenges presented when creating a sustainable denim line, and how did you overcome them?

RB: I would not say it was a challenging aspect per se, but we spent a lot of time researching and finding the right partners, who understood our vision in developing this category. 

IR: What are Marimekko’s long-term goals for the Maridenim line, and how do you plan to expand or evolve this collection in the future?

RB: Maridenim is part of our continuous collection and each year we will launch new fits, styles, colors, and patterns, to complement the core assortment. 

For the Spring/Summer 2025 collection we are adding a new pattern to Maridenim, and when you consider that our print archive consists of over 3500 unique designs – I do not think we will run out of ways to expand the Maridenim collection any time soon. 

IR: How do you see the denim market evolving, and what trends do you anticipate will shape the industry in the coming years? 

RB: Marimekko’s long-term ambition is to leave no burden for coming generations.

I certainly hope that circularity will be a key theme in the denim industry during the coming years – especially as we have assets like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign guidelines ready to be used. 

IR: What other exciting projects or collections can we expect from Marimekko in the near future? RB: During the past years, we have worked on defining and sharpening our most iconic archetype silhouettes – a continuing project. 

In the future, I would love for Marimekko to be equally known for our shapes and fits as we are renowned for the art and science of printmaking.  

Whereas our prints are bold and colourful – often large scale, then our shapes are simple, even architectural, as a canvas for a piece of wearable art.

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