Marimekko Corporation, Press release, 13 November 2019 at 3 p.m.
Marimekko and UNIQLO, a Japanese global apparel retailer, today announced a collaboration for a new limited edition collection. The collection that will be launched from 28 November 2019 onwards is the second partnership between Marimekko and UNIQLO. The first collection designed jointly by the two companies, introduced in spring 2018, was very successful. The new 2019 Fall/Winter collection celebrates Finnish winter traditions and augments women’s offerings with items for girls and babies.
“Following the positive reception of our first limited edition collaboration collection with UNIQLO in spring 2018, we are thrilled to collaborate with UNIQLO again for Fall/Winter 2019. The new limited edition collection features Marimekko’s bold prints and colours in winterly wardrobe essentials made for all. We believe that together with UNIQLO we have been able to create something truly special for our customers and can’t wait to see this new line bring joy to people’s daily lives around the world. This collaboration allows us to share our design philosophy with a large global audience building Marimekko’s brand awareness,” says Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, President and CEO of Marimekko.
The limited edition collection brings together the complementary approaches of the two companies. Marimekko’s mission is to empower people to be happy as they are, and to bring joy to everyday life through bold prints and colours. LifeWear is the UNIQLO commitment to creating high-quality clothing that is functional and affordable, to suit everyone’s daily lifestyles.
The collaboration collection includes several new women’s items designed specially to showcase some of Marimekko’s most recognisable prints such as Kivet (stones) designed by Maija Isola in 1956, Tasaraita (even stripe) by Annika Rimala from 1968 and Siirtolapuutarha (city garden) by Maija Louekari from 2009. The collection fuses iconic elements from both brands bringing to life Finnish winter traditions of families enjoying the outdoors in the snowy forests under the magical northern lights, and gathering around the fireplace to warm up in the cosy atmosphere of their winter cabins.
The collection will be available in all UNIQLO markets except Japan.
The brand collaboration relates to the agreement signed in summer 2019 with licensing income recognised in the third quarter in the Asia-Pacific region, as referred to in Marimekko’s January-September interim report in November 2019.
Photos: https://mediabank.marimekko.fi/l/vxnfqRzfC9mz
Further information:
Asta Halme, Marimekko Communications
Tel. +358 9 7587 233
asta.halme@marimekko.com
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Key media
Marimekko is a Finnish lifestyle design company renowned for its original prints and colours. The company’s product portfolio includes high-quality clothing, bags and accessories as well as home décor items ranging from textiles to tableware. When Marimekko was founded in 1951, its unparalleled printed fabrics gave it a strong and unique identity. Marimekko products are sold in about 40 countries. In 2018, brand sales of the products worldwide amounted to EUR 248 million and the company's net sales were EUR 112 million. Roughly 150 Marimekko stores serve customers around the globe. The key markets are Northern Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The Group employs about 450 people. The company’s share is quoted on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. www.marimekko.com
About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, Helmut Lang, PLST (Plus T), Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam and J Brand. With global sales of approximately 2.2905 trillion yen for the 2019 fiscal year ending August 31, 2019 (US $21.53 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2019 rate of $1 = 106.4 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.
UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a global brand. Today the company has close to 2,200 stores in 24 markets including Japan. In alphabetical order, the other markets are Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. and U.S. In addition, UNIQLO established a social business in Bangladesh together with the Grameen Bank in 2010, and today there are several Grameen-UNIQLO stores in Dhaka.
With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.