IKEA, which is known as a supplier of affordable home interior pieces, has shown signs of interest in new approaches in fashion industry. This October, the iconic furniture retailer invited up-and-coming Swedish designers to participate in a competition dubbed ‘IKEA Garderob’ for a chance to have their new collections displayed in a personally designed double PAX-wardrobe at a trendy shop in Stockholm’s Bibliotekstan street.
The competition, which was organized for IKEA by the Swedish PR company IbeyoStudio, was encouraging promising designers to submit their collections, which might become the future of fashion—they had three weeks to make the whole thing ready and submit it to the hub. The initiative attracted 370 entrants, whose works were featured on the dedicated website of the project, where people could ‘like’ collections and spread the wordв about their favorites in Facebook and Twitter. Initially, each of the entrants was allotted the same space on the screen to display his or her works, but the more likings they got, the bigger was the share.
The panel of jury, which included Margareta van den Bosch (Creative advisor H&M), Cia Jansson (Fashion and Creative Director Elle) and Tina Björeman (Press Editor IKEA) among others, shortlisted 25 designers who were to present their hilarious mini-collections offline. From October 28 through October 31, they opened their own mini-shops in a wardrobe at the pop-up store in the very centre of the capital so that art lovers as well as fashion experts could take a closer look at the creations of the contestants. The exhibition attracted over 10,000 visitors, who attended the display.
In the end, the jury named the grand winner of this year’s ‘IKEA Garderob’ contest. It was Andreas Sundelin Wiberg, who creates wonderful watches using old car parts and mechanisms—he was awarded a fashion scholarship of SEK 50,000.
Image Courtesy: Note Design Studio’s Facebook page
Image Courtesy: Note Design Studio’s Facebook page
Image Courtesy: Note Design Studio’s Facebook page
The wardrobes, exhibited at the store, were donated to the Stockholm City Mission. Since the competition was discussed and supported by thousands of bloggers and engaged hundreds of designers, IKEA promised to bring the project back in 2011. To learn more about the project, go to its YouTube channel (all the videos are in Swedish).