PICTURE THIS  | Daily Mail Online

MARIMEKKO

by Laird Borrelli-Persson (Thames & Hudson £50)

Marimekko’s iconic Unikko, or poppy, print is everywhere – dresses, bean bags and even umbrellas (pictured) – but the history of the forward-thinking company, brought to light in this brilliant book, is less well-known. 

Created in 1951, Marimekko’s bold colours were an antidote to the then war-battered Helsinki. The clothes were practical — ‘I make a dress for a woman to live in,’ said founder Armi Ratia — and made to last. Wonderfully, as early as 1964, its employees benefited from on-site hairdressers, sauna baths and open fires.

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