Sasu Kauppi for Marimekko Co-Created

this article was sponsored by Marimekko

Get inspired by a creative take on iconic design.

The legendary Finnish design house Marimekko, which is best-known around the world for its art of printmaking, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. To celebrate the milestone, Marimekko has invited interesting creatives from around the world to freely reintepret the brand’s unique design language and philosophy.

The concept is called Marimekko Co-created, which consists of four different limited-edition capsule collections of ready-to-wear & home items releasing throughout 2021.

The second capsule collection of the Marimekko co-created project was created in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed fashion designer Sasu Kauppi.

Check out our interview with Sasu Kauppi (Finnish only).

The limited-edition capsule brings an array of comfy, characteristic Sasu Kauppi pieces, the capsule features the iconic Maija Isola prints Appelsiini (orange) and Unikko (poppy) with a focus on playful pattern composition and imaginative colorways.

The full capsule will be available for purchase from Marimekko’s web store and a few selected retailers starting on Wednesday 7.4.2021.

Meet the creative

Sasu Kauppi is a Helsinki-based fashion designer acclaimed internationally for his distinctive style. Prior to his menswear master’s studies at Central Saint Martins in London, Sasu Kauppi studied patternmaking and garment construction.

In 2011, after his BA fashion studies at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Kauppi decided to launch his eponymous brand SASU KAUPPI. Kauppi's sportswear-driven, subculture-inspired, vibrant aesthetic withdrew the attention of retailers in Asia, the UK, the USA, and his home country, Finland. Kauppi worked solely on his own collection until 2014 when he started consulting for Kanye West’s YEEZY, eventually ending up as the design director and menswear head designer for that brand.

After deciding to return to Helsinki in 2016, Kauppi wanted to launch a new brand, SSSU with a more commercial approach. The brand is constantly evolving and balancing between artistic and commercial output, and Kauppi continues to work on projects and collaborative briefs within various creative fields including fashion, music and graphic design. The focus for Kauppi is to design and present well-thought-out products of soft, hard, audible or digital form.

One of the key takeaways for Sasu’s design is to meet practicality with ready-to-wear high-end fashion pieces - kind of like mixing best of both worlds. This is a distinguishable factor that can be seen in his work on this specific collection, workwear-like durability with relaxed but sleek layouts, yet executed to meet the needs of haute couture demography.

Dive more into the creative process Sasu goes through on his tangible and intangible creations by tuning into our podcast, which premiers on Wednesday, 7th of April on HYPEND’s YouTube channel - also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts in audio-only form.