Sneak Peek: Crate & Barrel Gets Marimekko Flair

Filed under: Design, etc, News & Trends

Crate & Barrel brings a Marimekko store-within-a-store to their NYC location and plans to bring one to a C&B near you. Here's a peek at the goods.

It's one thing when a brand you love collaborates with a brand you're "eh" about. It's another when two brands that you've been buying, loving and watching for years come together with a collection that spotlights the best of both worlds.

Of course, the Marimekko and Crate & Barrel partnership falls right into that category and the only downside is that our homes aren't yet prepared for the shock of color, pattern and excitement that's about to hit.

A short history of Marimekko: The first shop opened in Helsinki, Finland, in 1952, after its first fashion show was so successful that women bought the clothes right off the models! But it wasn't until 1960, when Jacqueline Kennedy bought seven Marimekko dresses, that the brand became a must-have trend.

In the 2000's, another trendsetting lady, one Miss Carrie Bradshaw, had Marimekko curtains flowing from her window. Along the way, Crate & Barrel brought the bright fabrics into their store displays and corporate headquarters. But it wasn't until now that the collection that defines "bright pops of color" would garner their own section of Crate & Barrel's flagship NYC store, with plans to introduce more mini-Marimekko-stores in Crate & Barrels across the country as early as this spring.






Wondering if this means you'll see more brands set up shop in Crate & Barrel store? Highly unlikely. We asked Crate & Barrel CEO Barbara Turf about the partnership and she made it clear that this was Marimekko-only turf. "We would never do a shop within a shop -- unless it was Marimekko. We've been together for 43 years."

As you could have guessed, the 1,700-square-foot shop is a wonderland of pop florals and geometrics, with unexpected and welcome bursts of solid-colored glassware and more delicate patterns. When I visited the store last week, they kindly gifted me a pillow with the iconic Unikko pattern in blue. Since it's been in its new home on my sofa, it has garnered compliments from friends with design sensibilities that range from fanatic to apathetic.

And that's the true allure of the new collaboration: Yes, those in the know can recognize the stylish and iconic flair, but at the end of the day, anyone can see that the patterns are built for real life.

Craving more Marimekko?
Marimekko Coming To A Wall Near You
Color Diary: Inspired by a Fabric
And check out the fashion side of the brand: The Marimekko look on StyleList.

 

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