Marimekko SS27: An Interview with Creative Director Rebekka Bay
Rebekka Bay, Creative Director, Copenhagen Fashion Week, 6 August
Marimekko presented its Spring/Summer 2027 collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week on 6 August, staging the show atop Langelinieskuret with the Øresund as backdrop. Building on the house’s 2027 theme – the art, the artist, and the landscape – the collection turns to the desert paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, translating her colour and form into peplum cuts, ruffles, and a mix of archive and new prints, including Vibeke Rohland’s Akkorder stripe. Creative Director Rebekka Bay spoke to us about the inspiration behind the collection.
image courtesy Marimekko
photography Rasmus Weng Karlsen
Sandra Myhrberg: Marimekko’s theme for 2027 is the art, the artist, and the landscape, and this collection looks to the desert. Where did that idea start for you?
Rebekka Bay: Our overarching theme for 2027 is the art, the artist, and the landscape. We found inspiration in the work of Georgia O’Keeffe, whose mesmerising depictions of nature captivated us through their rich colours, organic forms, and distinctive sense of place. Equally inspiring was O’Keeffe’s personal style and wardrobe, which, fittingly, is known to include a remarkable collection of Marimekko dresses. For Spring/Summer 2027, we explore the intersection of softness and richness, nature, and abstraction. The collection offers a poetic interpretation of summer, the light and the shadows, infused with the vibrant hues and sculptural forms of desert landscapes and interpreted by
SM: Could you tell us a little about the key looks of this collection?
RB: This season, we will introduce more feminine details and silhouettes. Peplum cuts, expressive ruffles, and airy flounces bring a playful yet sophisticated dimension to summer dressing. These sculptural shapes are enlivened by a combination of beloved archive prints and mostly new print designs, creating a dynamic dialogue between something new and something familiar.
SM: Vibeke Rohland’s new stripe, Akkorder, leaves a space uncoloured between each colour, where Marimekko has traditionally let colours overlap. What drew you to that idea?
RB: Distinctive design details have always been integral to the character of a Marimekko print. During her artist-in-residence period in Helsinki, Vibeke immersed herself in the unique process through which Marimekko prints are conceived and brought to life. We continued the collaboration past the artist-in-residence period, which allowed Vibeke to explore further. As part of this exploration, she created two interconnected prints. One of them, Akkorder, intentionally leaves a fine uncoloured space between each field of colour. Inspired by this negative space, she developed a second sibling print that transforms those uncoloured areas into the central visual element, giving presence to what would otherwise remain unseen.
SM: The palette runs from pear sorbet and vanilla ice all the way to fiery reds. Do you start with colour, or does it come after the silhouette?
RB: At Marimekko, everything begins with the print. Each season starts with the selection of prints, from which we build the collection’s colour harmonies and deliberate colour contrasts. For Spring/Summer 2027, the colours and forms found in Georgia O’Keeffe’s landscape paintings served as a guiding influence, shaping both our print selection and the collection’s distinctive palette.
SM: You’ve turned a rooftop dining table at Langelinieskuret into a runway, with the Øresund behind it. How much does the setting shape how a collection reads?
RB: To me, presenting a collection is about bringing together multiple creative elements, from styling and sound to the setting itself. We strive to create a world that is both immediately accessible and conceptually engaging, allowing the collection to be experienced on several levels. This season, a soundscape and spoken word by Ringa Manner performed in Finnish, combined with the backdrop of Copenhagen’s waterfront, captures the essence of the collection. Together, these elements reflect its central themes: the art, the artist and the landscape, as well as the poetry of dressing.
SM: Marimekko is so associated with optimism. What do you hope people carry with them when they leave the show?
RB: My hope is always that Marimekko inspires people to embrace print and color in their everyday lives. Through our collections, we want to encourage individuals to experiment, express themselves freely, and discover new ways of styling prints that reflect their own unique sense of personal style.
