Marimekko Designathon is looking for participants

Marimekko, Slush and Junction will organize hackathon at Helsinki Design Week to challenge the traditional convention of the textile industry. Apply now.

Marimekko is a Finnish textile and clothing design house renowned for its original prints and colours. In collaboration with Slush, Europe’s leading event for technology and start-ups, and Junction, the largest hackathon in Europe, Marimekko invites 50 younger generation creators to take part in the Marimekko Designathon competition that aims to challenge the traditional conventions of the textile and clothing industry.

The international hackathon event combines design and technology in order to come up with new innovative solutions with the help of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. The event will be held at Marimekko’s headquarters in Helsinki over a weekend from 15 to 17 September, in conjunction with the Helsinki Design Week.

On Sunday 17 September, a jury composed of international experts and the organizers of the competition will select the top 3–5 ideas from 10 entries. The winners will have the opportunity to present their ideas to an audience of investors and startups at Slush 2017, 30 November to 1 December.

The sign-up for the Marimekko Designathon lasts until 31 August 2017. Read more and apply here.

The members of the jury are:

  • Caterina Fake, American entrepreneur, angel investor and board member, also known for being the co-founder of Flickr and Hunch, and Chairman of Etsy.com
  • Linda Liukas, Finnish author of the Hello Ruby children’s picture book, programmer and TED resident
  • Cecilie Manz, one of the leading Danish furniture and product designers of her generation
  • Arni Aromaa, Finnish designer, and creative director and CEO at Pentagon Design Oy
  • Kari Korkman, Helsinki Design Week founder and director, and president of the World Design Weeks network
  • Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, Marimekko’s president and CEO, and chairman of the jury