On Monday, Virgil Abloh unveiled a few concepts from his upcoming “MARKERAD” collaborative collection with IKEA. Before delving into the thought process behind the pieces, Abloh explained why he wanted to give people a look behind the curtain at what he and the Swedish furniture brand have planned.
“For me, as I was growing up, I studied architecture, I was into music, and I always felt that there was a gap between the things that I loved and consumed and who made them and how they made them,” he said. “So it’s a premise I gave to my design process. It’s not a gimmick. It’s a powerful tool to educate and to get more people into design, and appreciate design, if they simply can see the process that we do in our meetings and in our design sessions."
Back in October, Abloh teased his collaboration with IKEA, posting a video of himself with the company’s creative leader Henrik Most. During that live Q&A session, Virgil expressed a desire to provide “new solutions for a millennial’s first home.” In his final piece he showed off a predominantly red rug posted on a wall with the word “BLUE” in his signature quotation theme in stark blue lettering across the middle. Abloh said his goal with the rug was to reposition something that can be seen as art in a different manner. “Why does [a rug] need to only be on the floor?” he asked. “There were textures on a wall, so that it can perform as an art piece.”
Rest assured, every piece from the collection will be affordable and within Ikea's normal price range. When we can get our hands on these items still remains a mystery. Check out the video to get a glimpse at the “MARKERAD” collection here, with it starting around the 25:30 mark.
