Riitta Immonen (13 May 1918 in Ilomantsi – 24 August 2008 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

) was a Finnish fashion artist and entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder of Finnish fashion corporation

Marimekko Marimekko Corporation () is a Finland, Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company founded by Viljo and Armi Ratia in Helsinki in 1951. Marimekko made important contributions to fashion in the 1960s. It is particularly noted for it ...

. Immonen was also known for her one-of-a-kind outfits, celebrity clients and a question-and-answer column which she wrote for Finnish fashion magazine ''Eeva'' in the 1950s and 1960s. Riitta Immonen was born in 1918 in Ilomantsi. A self-taught clothing designer, Immonen opened her first design boutique in

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1942 which grew into a success despite the shortages of the ensuing years. In 1951, she and Armi Ratia started up

to sell fabrics made by Finnish textile firm Printex. However, after the firm's first season, she focused on her own Cinderella collections, and eventually left Marimekko a few years later, continuing to design clothes for the rest of her life. In 1987–1990 she was still designing unique outfits for a company named Atelierika.Founder of Finnish Marimekko dies at age of 90.
AFP via Google News, August 25, 2008. In 2008, Immonen was the subject of an exhibition at the Finnish

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

. She died later the same year in

Biography

*Koskennurmi-Sivonen, Ritva: ''Creating a unique dress: A study of Riita Immonen’s creations in the Finnish fashion house tradition''. Helsinki: Akatiimi, 1998.

References

External links

New York Times: Riitta Immonen, Clothing Designer, Dies at 90.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Immonen, Riitta 1918 births 2008 deaths People from Ilomantsi Finnish fashion designers Finnish women fashion designers