Propelled by techno beats, a parade of flowers – some created in collaboration with artist Petra Börner – unfolded across the green oasis of The Opera Park in Copenhagen
“We wanted to lift the lesser-known floral prints in our vast archive of over 3,500+ prints,” says Marimekko’s creative director Rebekka Bay ahead of the Finnish heritage brand’s Copenhagen Fashion Week showcase. And a sea of florals there were, splayed across ever-functional summer dresses, co-ord sets, breezy trousers and even caps. Not to mention the wildflowers surrounding the show’s guests, lining the twisting paths of The Opera Park.
Throughout its 2025 seasons, Marimekko is exploring the theme of the ‘Anatomy of a Flower’, and the spring/summer collection serves up a whole bouquet in watered-down aquamarine blues, rosy reds and cool spearmints, accompanied by tiger lily oranges and delicate lilacs. Where there weren’t flowers, there were graphic moments of stripes and checks, offering a playful counter to the petals and blooms.
Amidst it all were more abstract line-drawn blossoms, developed at the hand of Petra Börner, the latest artist in Marimekko’s Artist Series. “When we came across Petra’s distinct way of capturing floral and botanical subjects in her artworks, we knew that this would bring something distinctly Marimekko yet something entirely new to our long design heritage of interpreting florals as abstractions,” Bay says. Being the first time a collaboration spans ready-to-wear and homeware, there was a task for Bay, Börner and their teams to ensure the artwork would translate “equally well to a dress as to a ceramic.”
While Marimekko has multi-generational appeal, the showcase felt distinctly youthful: likely a combination of the sneaker-clad models, the eye-popping colour palette, and the driving techno soundtrack courtesy of DJ Nene H. Or maybe it was the reappearance of Maridenim, the brand’s new denim line taht debuted on the runway last season and launched this week. Whatever it was, Bay knows how to create some energy. “It’s all about the vibrancy of high summer in full bloom. A celebration of happy contradictions: nature versus urbanism, organic versus architectural, fast versus timeless,” she says of SS25. To close the show, as the feet of the front row guests tapped to the hyperfast beats, a slew of models strode our bearing flagpoles, the collection’s prints fluttering in the wind. Undeniable energy.
See the full Marimekko SS25 collection below,
