Moomin and Magniberg link up on a collaboration that reimagines the first-ever Moomin story

The Moomins were quite busy last year. 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the beloved, hippo-like creatures drawn by Finnish artist Tove Jansson in 1945, a celebration that ushered in a host of exciting collaborations and a Vogue Scandinavia cover to boot. But the party isn’t over: this year, we’ve already gotten to revel in fresh additions to the Moomin Arabia homewares (including new Moomin Mugs!), and now, in yet another covetable team-up with a buzzy brand, as Moomin links up with Swedish label Magniberg.

“Our generation grew up with Moomin, it was a big thing in Sweden, on television and in books,” says Bengt Thornefors, co-founder of Magniberg. “We saw Moomin as direct. The drawings aren’t so beautiful or perfect like in some kid’s stories and the themes are maybe a bit darker and more real. Kids appreciate this.” The brand found itself particularly drawn to the first-ever Moomin story Jansson dreamt up, The Moomins and the Great Flood, which Magniberg has reinterpreted in the collaboration spanning everything from clothing to homewares. “It’s not as well-known as the later books but this is the first Moomin story where the characters are born, which led to the whole world of Moomin,” Thornefors continues. “From my perspective, the drawings are less cartoonish, they are moodier than what came later.”

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Jansson penned The Moomins and the Great Flood during World War II, using the story as a form of escapism from the darkness that cloaked her reality. She comforted herself by creating a vibrant world of adventure and inclusivity, offering a glimmer of hope during a sombre time – something that still feels relevant today. “These themes really spoke to us. It’s a story about hope in general, which resonates for Nina and me and why we founded Magniberg,” Thornefors says. “We had a dream about creating products, universes and projects, with this idealistic approach that we still have. With Magniberg you don’t have to fit in to belong.”

Comprising streetwear-forward pieces like hoodies, jeans (the Moomin collaboration marks Magniberg’s first foray into jeans) and denim jackets, met with wardrobe staples like cotton T-shirts, long-sleeves and flowy viscose trousers, the collection is rendered in relaxed, airy silhouettes and a monochromatic palette that harks back to the hues harnessed by Jansson in the story as a response to feeling like “the colours had been taken away.” “We used our garments as a canvas to take the Moomin story further for this generation and to connect it to our narrative,” explains Thornefors, adding, “We wanted to create garments that we ourselves would wear.”

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Jansson’s delicate pen and ink drawings and watercolour washes appear on the clothes both directly and artfully layered, with the brand playing with scale and composition to achieve pieces that are both abstract and literal – bound to appeal to a range of Moomin fans and beyond. Elsewhere, a 100 per cent virgin wool blanket allows for warm wrapping up in a Moominvalley landscape. “At Magniberg, our storytelling starts from the bedroom and the sense of home, and of going out and coming home. As Moomin says, ‘then everyone crept into his bed, making a cosy nest, pulled his blanket over his ears and thought of something nice’. I love the idea of people doing that with a Magniberg blanket,” Thornefors says.

Thornefors tapped Japanese photographer Takashi Homma to shoot the collection in Tokyo, capturing the collaboration through his distinct, moody yet romantic lens, echoing Jansson’s artworks. “I’m happy with the outcome,” Thornefors muses of the whole project. “I hope people build their own story around the collection, taking it further and creating their own looks.”