Marimekko was established in 1951 as a brainchild of the visionary Armi Rattia. The company's name, which literally can be translated as "Mary dress," has various interpretations, a multiplicity that reflects the complex associations and dualities that define the Marimekko aesthetic—national and international, traditional and modern, rural and urban, nature and technology. The introduction of Marimekko in the 1950s was a sensation in the design world that swept across the international scene, and the company became one of the first furnishing textile and fashion enterprises of the post-war era and beyond. The striking, large-scale fabric patterns and unconventional ready-to-wear dresses brought colour and informality to an otherwise self-conscious design and fashion world. Fabrics and fashions were photographed amidst the idyllic beauty of the Finnish countryside and its rural farmhouses. Products were given uniquely Finnish names, fabric patterns referenced historic decorative motifs, and dresses showed elements of traditional Finnish clothing.

Marimekko's business concept is tinged with the ideology of Modernism, and its theoretical foundation is profoundly visionary. While Marimekko's story reflects Finnish society and the progress attained by Finnish industry in the second half of the twentieth century, its boldness and originality were ahead of its time, pointing the way for other entrepreneurs.

 Marimekko extended its production to include home wares, interiors, and architecture. With a visionary corporate philosophy ranging from a utopian Mari community with prefabricated dwellings to luxury saunas for the foreign market, Ratia collaborated with some of Finland's greatest architects and interior designers of the time, such as Aarno Ruusuvuori and Antti Nurmesniemi.

 The exhibition showcasing the firm's half a century long history, focusing on the works of the designers whose work defined the identity of the firm, presenting the story of a firm which started as a local print maker and reached to be a renowned brand name throughout the world thus, the exhibition gives an outlook on the history of Modern Finnish Design.