ARKET – ’The Worlds of Tove Jansson’

Background

ARKET is a Nordic modern-day market and lifestyle destination offering essential products for men, women, children and the home. ARKET is a part of the H&M Group and has flagship stores in countries such as China, France, Finland, United Kingdom, South Korea and Sweden. Nordic Stories is a concept by ARKET that showcase collaborations with independent creators and cultural institutions from the Nordic region. For their fourth chapter, ARKET wanted to highlight the works of Tove Jansson.

Tove Jansson (1914–2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author and visual artist, born and based in Helsinki. Published just after the Second World War, her Moomin books gained widespread critical appreciation and commercial success. It was a unique literary debut followed by a lifelong and deeply original artistry, including the much-loved ’The Summer Book’ and a diverse art collection of landscape, portrait and abstract paintings and illustrations. With a continuous interest in real life, Tove Jansson’s visual and written work expressed poetic intelligence, melancholy and an unparalleled sense of humor.

About

Brand

Moomin

Licensee

ARKET

Territory

Worldwide

The Collaboration

The capsule collection called ’The Worlds of Tove Jansson’ marks the fourth chapter in ARKET’s Nordic Stories. The collection is a celebration of the pioneering work and life of Tove Jansson as an outstanding artist, primarily recognised for her Moomin stories but equally significant as a painter novelist, short-story writer and political cartoonist.

‘We are thrilled to present glimpses into the many different worlds that Tove Jansson created and captured as an artist. Speaking to both children and adults, she is a true cultural icon with a uniquely Nordic voice that continues to resonate with our lives, and we hope to introduce our customers to the richness of her work”’

– Karl-Johan Bogefors, Brand & Communications Director ARKET

Key pieces for women included a set of dress, blouse and trousers with all-over prints of evocative landscapes in black and white. The children’s collection featured a series of motifs from the Moomin world on sweatshirts, t-shirts, pants and a dress. For the home, black-and-white illustrations cushion covers, and a woven wool blanket produced by the Swedish woolen mill Klippan.