Marimekko Creative Director Minna Kemell-Kutvonen said that the company continues to maintain that its patterns created by Teresa Moorhouse were not copied from the British children’s book _Rosie’s Walk. _
Kemell-Kutvonen is confident that reoccurring plagiarism suspicions have not seriously damaged Marimekko’s image, as the company has enjoyed decades of support from loyal customers, which, she hopes, will continue.
“We trust that when you do your job well, this will carry you on. And if mistakes and errors occur, as usually happens in human life, one must take responsibility,” Kemell-Kutvonen says.
Fresh on the heels of previous scandal
Earlier in the week Yle reported that a pattern known as Grandfather's Garden created by Teresa Moorhouse for Marimekko looked similar to the work of British illustrator Pat Hutchens in the 1968 picture book Rosie’s Walk. Art experts, however, disputed plagiarism in the case.
The controversy followed on the heels of an earlier plagiarism scandal in May, when long-time Marimekko designer Kristina Isola admitted to having plagiarised the work of Ukrainian folk artist Maria Primachenko for her design Forest Dwellers or Metsänväki.
Marimekko CEO Mika Ihamuotila would not comment on the new scandal, despite Yle attempts to interview him about the matter. Neither would the publisher of Rosie’s Walk give any comments to Yle.
The latest Marimekko plagiarism suspicion was also covered by the Swedish media, with both national broadcaster SVT and the Aftonbladet daily reporting on the news.