This seems like a larger Marimekko in Helsinki (and, we walked past a few of them!) There's an…read moreupstairs and a downstairs which includes mostly womenswear and accessories--with the surprising exception of what I think were a few menswear items! Whatever guy is walking around sporting Marimekko is a pretty cool fella in my book! Unfortunately... I could not convince my significant other to purchase the man-bag (i think it was actually unisex) that I was waving in the air at him. LOL! Maybe next time. ;)
I didn't know that much about the famed Marimekko brand before my trip to Helsinki, but it's actually pretty interesting! Before we got there, I went to the website and read/watched the whole "about us" section. It had all these great creative videos and descriptions of how they design, print and construct their creations. I think in such a mass-produced era of factory goods it's easy to take for granted the craftsmanship behind the scenes. Without any knowledge of the brand I could've easily just walked in and out like "ehhh... another bold print. Don't they have fabric like this at IKEA?" But, by just going to their wonderfully designed website before coming to the actual store it made me really appreciate what I was seeing in person. Plus, I'm pretty sure that a lot of those IKEA fabric prints are a "inspired" (slightly copied) version of the original artistry you see here. Before you head to the store, I really suggest that you check the site to see a little more about what actually goes on behind those iconically Finnish bold patterns! I know that I understood and appreciated it much more than I would've otherwise.
