2016 TREND MADE US LOOK BACK

Looking back at 2016, I realised just how many seeds of today’s Marimo were planted that year. It was a year filled with long nights and brave decisions. It was a time when Marimo was growing in many directions at once: some things were planned, others unfolded naturally, but all of them left a lasting mark on the brand. Here are the memories from 2016 exactly as they happened:

1. Lili started working at Marimo, and shortly after that, in March, I left for my first-ever two-week vacation to the US. Before leaving, I prepared all the work for her, which meant many all-nighters and personally preparing all the patterns for the new collection.
   

   
   

2. I created special pieces with handmade rye embroidery, inspired by my favorite book The Little Prince and the saying: “Kuldne vili meenutab mulle Sind ja ma armastan tuule sahinat viljas.” In English, it translates to:"The golden grain reminds me of you, and I love the sound of the wind in the wheat.” I love the fact that I hand-embroidered all of the collection pieces myself.

   

3. These pieces were photographed as part of the Lasnaviljamägi project (where rye was grown on the Lasnamäe canal steps), created by two EKA students, one of whom is my dear friend Ann.
   

   

   
   

   
   

4. I designed the very popular Kaempferia dress, which is still one of our bestsellers.
   

   
   

5. I designed an evening gown for Estonian Independence Day that was named one of the best dresses and ranked in the top three by many local magazines covering the best-dressed women at the event.
   

   
   

6. I created many custom-made pieces, including bridal dresses and grooms’ suits. Some of these have become inspiration for new brides and grooms this year.
   

   
   

7. Marimo had its very first pop-up store in Tartu.
   

   
   

8. We also hosted a pop-up at the Tallinn Hilton Hotel, where we introduced our collection to stylists, media, and customers.
   

   
   

9. We organized many boutique events for beautiful ladies interested in slow fashion, already ten years ago.
   

   
   

10. Tartu Kaubamaja chose the dress with hand-embroidered rye for their Christmas campaign main photo.
    

    
    

11. I was inspired by the magnolias in New York City’s Central Park. It was wonderful to finally see them in real life after having created a dress named Magnolia for Marimo’s 2015 collection.
    

    
    

12. Marimo presented the Spring 2017 collection at Tallinn Fashion Week. Due to changes in our team, most of the dresses shown were sewn by me. I spent many long evenings and all-nighters to present all of these pieces on the runway this year.
    

    
    
    

13. I designed the first wide crystal belt as part of a dress in the Spring 2016 collection. This marked the beginning of our crystal belts/accessories collection journey.
    

    
    

14. We moved our atelier into our boutique, which had been open for one and a half years. This helped us reduce costs, and since it wasn’t feasible for me to be in two separate locations all the time, it was the best choice. We were waiting for the atelier room next to our boutique, which we received the following year.
    

    
    
    

Looking back now, it’s clear that 2016 was a foundational year for us. So many ideas that started then are still part of Marimo today. Thank you to everyone who was there then, and to those who have joined us since.

Warmly,