Pls. identify this Finnish dress by MARKETTA (possibly Marimekko?)

[Nostalgia]

Hello All!

I thrifted this cotton dress from the 70s. There seems to be scant information on the Designer, however one re-seller mentions that Marketta was a sub-division of Marimekko until the early 70s.

I did browse through the various prints by Marimekko, and while there are some similarities, I couldn't identify or link this particular print or designer. The smaller tag reads "Front Page". Any thoughts or leads on the connection would be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[lkranieri]

Can you post a photo of the rest of the label that has "Front" on it, or transcribe it and post that here?

 

[Nostalgia]

Can you post a photo of the rest of the label that has "Front" on it, or transcribe it and post that here?

Hi, I was having a hard time capturing the back, but it reads "Front Page"
Thank You.

 

[lkranieri]

Hi, I was having a hard time capturing the back, but it reads "Front Page"
Thank You.

Is there a number after the CA below Front Page? If not a number, what is after the CA?

 

[Nostalgia]

Is there a number after the CA below Front Page? If not a number, what is after the CA?

CA 02179

 

[Jonathan]

CA 02179 is the Canadian Registration number for G. KOFFLER FASHIONS INC., which means this dress was imported into Canada and resold under the label Front Page. I have run across the Front Page label before, in a blouse from the early 1950s, it's a Toronto based brand, but I don't know anything about G. Koffler Fashions Inc. There was never a store called Kofflers, so I suspect they were importers and distributors. There is a wealthy family by the name of Koffler in Toronto, but I don't think they are related as the famous Kofflers are stupid rich from having founded in 1921 Shoppers Drug Mart - the leading pharmaceutical chain across Canada. As for the Finnish name, I have run across several Marrimekko-like Finnish clothing labels, so I think it was a look that Finland specialized in for exports.

 

[Nostalgia]

CA 02179 is the Canadian Registration number for G. KOFFLER FASHIONS INC., which means this dress was imported into Canada and resold under the label Front Page. I have run across the Front Page label before, in a blouse from the early 1950s, it's a Toronto based brand, but I don't know anything about G. Koffler Fashions Inc. There was never a store called Kofflers, so I suspect they were importers and distributors. There is a wealthy family by the name of Koffler in Toronto, but I don't think they are related as the famous Kofflers are stupid rich from having founded in 1921 Shoppers Drug Mart - the leading pharmaceutical chain across Canada. As for the Finnish name, I have run across several Marrimekko-like Finnish clothing labels, so I think it was a look that Finland specialized in for exports.

Hi, and thank you for this info. Very Interesting!
I've been running into a lot of Toronto-based vintage clothes, which I love, and did look up the Koffler Fashions Inc., but they seems to have closed down. As for the uber rich Koffler family you've mentioned, I wonder if they are the same ones who have a charitable foundation in Toronto, which sells high end vintage annually to raise funds. https://kofflerarts.org/Events/Fundraising-Events/Koffler-Couture

Half the fun scoring vintage items is the research and history. Thank you for the info!

 

[Jonathan]

That's funny because I ran into that Koffler vintage sale announcement and I had never heard of it before and I am pretty plugged into the Toronto vintage scene...

 

[Midge]

Never heard of Marketta before, and not in connection with Marimekko either. Finland used to have a thriving textile industry and a lot of it seems to have been exported, not just Marimekko. I have done a fair bit of vintage shopping in Helsinki and seen all sorts of vintage Finnish brands, but I run into vintage clothes from Finland here in Switzerland and in Austria fairly regularly too. Marimekko was a sort of flagship for Finnish textile design, and a lot of other brands would have emulated their style (more or less). I have or had a few items that at first look could pass for Marimekko but aren't by them.

 

[Nostalgia]

That's funny because I ran into that Koffler vintage sale announcement and I had never heard of it before and I am pretty plugged into the Toronto vintage scene...

You will have to score yourself an invite this year!
I'm no vintage expert, other than having a simple intuitive love for all things past and using fashion as a creative outlet. But, I've been amazed and impressed at what a thriving textile and fashion industry we used to have in ON/QC. A lot of polyester, although that was the advent of 70s - petroleum byproduct usage, I suppose.

 

[Nostalgia]

Never heard of Marketta before, and not in connection with Marimekko either. Finland used to have a thriving textile industry and a lot of it seems to have been exported, not just Marimekko. I have done a fair bit of vintage shopping in Helsinki and seen all sorts of vintage Finnish brands, but I run into vintage clothes from Finland here in Switzerland and in Austria fairly regularly too. Marimekko was a sort of flagship for Finnish textile design, and a lot of other brands would have emulated their style (more or less). I have or had a few items that at first look could pass for Marimekko but aren't by them.

Thank you for the info! I do love the simplistic, minimalist, yet somehow elegant Scandanavian style. One can spot the "look" quality, and construction from a distance. However, I can't seem to pull off the look or do justice to the designer's vision, so I will continue to admire it from afar.