It’s bold, colorful, and modern but timeless. The Unikko (Poppy) is so associated with Marimekko that it could be the Finnish company’s logo. The flower has appeared on everything from television boxes to Nordic walking sticks.

Viljo Ratia owned the oilcloth company Printex in Helsinki with his wife, Armi, a trained artist. Armi Ratia had an idea that a new textile line with bold designs would attract potential customers to their business. To do this, she commissioned young artists to design new bold patterns for a fabric line that would translate well to women’s apparel. “Our clothes must be loose and express movement. They are part of modern interiors and modern life,” said Armi. The Marimekko (which translates as “Mary’s dress”) brand was founded in 1951. The bold, bright prints were widely accepted by the public after World War II and became an international phenomenon, giving Finland a definitive presence on the world fashion stage. One of the artists Armi commissioned was 22-year-old Maija Isola (1927–2001), who had recently graduated from Helsinki Central School of Industrial Arts, where she studied painting. Maija would go on to create some of the most iconic Marimekko designs, including the company’s iconic poppy.

Unikko was painted by Maija in response to Armi’s declaration to the artists working for Marimekko that they were not to create any flower designs, because she believed only nature could create something as beautiful as a flower. But when Armi saw Maija’s big, bold take on poppy flowers in 1964, she changed her mind. That same year, Maija created other perennial favorites for the brand like Kaivo (well) and Seireeni (siren). Before Unikko, she had already designed classics like Kivet (stones), Lokki (seagull), and Joonas (Jonah). Maija designed over 500 textile patterns in her 40 years with Marimekko. Three generations of Isolas have designed for Marimekko: Maija, her daughter Kristina, and Kristina’s daughter, Emma. Emma is still designing for the company.

So how was Unikko made? Maija would create her designs while sitting on the floor with her paints surrounding her. Its organic inconsistencies make the flower so eye-catching when transferred to a print. Four screens are required to make Unikko in its classic colorway. The dark navy stems are printed first, followed by the large red petals, the smaller pink ones, and finally the orange centers, which overlap with the petal color, adding depth to the print.

Unikko is no ordinary bloom. The design has a chameleon-like ability to change and adapt to new visions and eras and has been printed in endless colorways over the years. “What we understand as the Marimekko style is very much based on what Maija Isola was doing,” said Marianne Aav, then the director of the Design Museum in Helsinki, to the New York Times in 2005. The flower celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2024, yet remains as fresh as the day it was designed. The odds are that the next time you’re out shopping or visiting a friend or a museum, you’ll see Unikko.