Anna Teurnell, who takes over the post in July, formerly worked for Swedish cheap-chic giant Hennes & Mauritz. Her projects there included a collaborative collection with the Finnish firm dubbed Tribute to Marimekko.
Teurnell is now design director at the women’s fashion brand & Other Stories, which is owned by H&M. She oversees its designers in Paris and Stockholm.
Her duties at Marimekko will also include leading the designers’ group and setting the near-legendary company’s design strategy. Her subordinates will include the present artistic director Minna Kemell-Kutvonen, who will still be in charge of pattern design.
Mika Ihamuotila, who took over as Marimekko’s CEO six years ago, said Teurnell had been hired for her vision, international experience and Nordic background.
She takes over a company that has suffered a wave of negative publicity, including several plagiarism cases and allegations of sweatshop conditions at its factories abroad.
Marimekko, which was established in 1951 by designer Armi Ratia and her husband Viljo, has shops in some 40 countries.
