DESIGN BY Lanie Nowak
and Martin Flores
Ikea has been providing cheap housewares since 1943, but in the last few years they’ve delved into a territory usually reserved for streetwear designers and skateboard brands—collaborations. From costume designers to electronics companies, Ikea has been churning out collab after collab, attaching luxury names to reasonable prices and injecting their modern designs with new relevance. So what happens when a home goods monolith collaborates with a wide variety of tastemakers and visual artists? Take a look for yourself.
Available:
summer 2019
trash can
couch
lamp
Sarah Andelman and Craig Redman
FORNYAD
plush toy
The spirit of Colette, the influential, 20-year old Paris boutique that closed its doors last year, gets resurrected with this airy, colorful collection (after all, “Fornyad” is Swedish for “renewed”). Colette founder Sarah Andelman and designer Craig Redman worked together to create colorful pieces that incorporate Redman’s egg-shaped alter ego Darcel Disappoints and evoke the Tuileries, a Parisian park
“The stationery, notebooks, desk lighting, stool, pedal
bin, rug, plus more that make
up FÖRNYAD,” says Ikea, “are for everyone who wants to add some fun to everyday life.”
SPÄNST
Available:
summer 2019
shoe box
travel towel set
basketball hoop
skateboard
Available:
now
The fruits of the Stampd/Ikea mindmeld is SPÄNST, designed
for “aesthetically-conscious consumers...who want to
exhibit their lifestyles with
the same amount of artistry
within the four walls of the
home as they do outside it.”
It’s basically the dream trappings
of a grown-up skate rat’s loft in DTLA—clear plastic shoe boxes,
a matte black indoor basketball hoop, a skateboard rack, and a skateboard, a first for Ikea.
“I think that if you're spending a lot of money on shoes,” Stamp told the LA Times, “they should look good
in your space."
Chris
Stamp
Available: Summer
2019
sound and light prototype
All the makings of an impromptu house party. The turntable and mixers are made by the of Swedes Teenage Engineering, a consumer electronics company famous for cheap, portable synthesizers and drum machines. The Bluetooth-enabled gear they’re building with Ikea promises to combine a light and sound show
that’ll make your party the bäst of
Summer 2019.
“I started thinking about how, a lot of Swedes, we go to Ikea when we
have a party—to get candles,
napkins,” Teenage Engineering’s
Jesper Kouthoofd told Ad Age.
"Maybe we could do something
that’s really affordable so people
can buy a sound system, including
a light show—a complete party."
Available:
SUMMER 2019
FREKVENS
Teenage
Engineering
Available:
SUMMER 2019
eye pillows
shoe vase
lip cushion
wall decoration
A collaboration with Bea Åkerlund, a stylist and costume designer (Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, et al. ) who describes herself as a “fashion activist”.
This limited edition collection brings her glam/Goth curiosities to the Marketplace with lip-shaped pillows, 3D-printed hands, and large glass hats.
(The name Omedelbar means “immediate” in Swedish.)
“I basically designed everything I was lacking in my life,” she
told Vogue. “It’s sort of dark
and moody and boudoir,”
notes Åkerlund, “which
works with my whole theme.”
Available:
now
OMEDELBAR
Bea
Åkerlund
IKEA is collaborating with the Solange Knowles-affiliated cultural hub Saint Heron to explore architectural and interior design objects with
multi-functional use. There are no prototypes or sketches yet, but we can imagine furniture that
looks like the rich geometric shapes of Solange’s
sets and shiny vinyls everywhere.
"Contemporary art is a huge part of people’s lives today. At IKEA we are curious about the creative space in between architecture, design, art and
music and how that could come alive in the homes
of many people. This is what we want to
explore together with Saint Heron.” - Marcus Engman,
Head of Design at Ikea Range & Supply
Available: TBD
SAINT HERON
Solange
Knowles
prototype of gaming chair
“When considering how to enhance your performance...people
usually think about the software
of the device you use and not the functionality in your space. But ergonomics are actually an equally important factor in becoming a better gamer,” says Area Academy founder Tommy Ingemarsson.
Available: 2020
Area Academy x UNYQ
Available: 2020
Ikea says there are 2 billion gamers in the world, and they want
several hundred million of them
to be sitting in their ergonomically superior, customizable, 3D printed chairs they developed with this gaming brand.
Available: 2019
MARKERAD
Virgil
Abloh
"WET GRASS" rug
door stop
IKEA receipt rug
"KEEP OFF" rug
Not to be left out, hyper-prolific
cross-pollinator Virgil Abloh, founder of
Off-White and now head of Louis Vuitton men, is putting his winking post-mod imprint on rugs, tote bags and other homewares. The result? Markerad (or “marked”, referencing Abloh's affinity for emblazoning his products with their names) offers rugs in the image of an Ikea receipt, a glass-doored wardrobe, and a massive doorstop.
“Together, IKEA and OFF-WHITE look for ways to help create a home for millennials who are just starting out their lives,” said an IKEA press release.
IKEA x EVERYONE
Saint heron
IKEA x UNYQ
x AREA ACADEMY
teenage engineering
Virgil abloh
FÖRNYAD
SPÄNST
omedelbar
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