Ikea 80th anniversary collection is a colourful treasure trove of great designs
New pieces revealed for the Nytillverkad collection, celebrating Ikea’s 80th anniversary with forward-facing materials and fresh new colours. Discover the new drop of 1970s and 1980s designs
Nytillverkad is Ikea's 80th-anniversary collection: bold, bright, sustainable – and familiar. Those who have lived and grown up with Ikea may recognize some of it, because everything has been made before. It’s a back-catalogue collection in forward-facing materials and fresh new colours. The first drop, of around 20 pieces, was unveiled during Fuorisalone 2023 and is available to buy now, while this latest release will be at Ikea stores globally from October 2023.
80 years of Ikea celebrated with colour and patterns
It makes perfect sense. Ikea launches around 2,500 products a year and is sitting on a treasure trove of great designs. But with so much rich history where to start? For Karin Gustavsson, creative leader of Nytillverkad, it wasn’t easy. ‘We had a big list to choose from,’ she says. ‘The only thing we knew for sure was that, after the pandemic, we wanted colour and pattern, which people like to mix and match.’
To this end, flower print cushions come in popping primary colours; pillows and rugs feature bright bold stripes and unlike their predecessors, these textiles are made from recycled cotton and ‘post-consumer’ recycled fibres. ‘People today are very mindful of consumption,’ says Gustavsson. ‘Sustainability is top of everyone’s minds.’
‘Materials, supply chains, production methods and home life have changed since these vintage pieces were first made,’ adds Johan Ejdemo, design manager of Ikea Sweden. ‘In the 1960s, you sat with the baby in your lap, and smoked cigarettes,’ he observes. ‘Thoughts around safety were rather different.’ To this end, tippable sofas and chairs that fall over easily didn’t make the edit, nor did pieces in exotic woods like jacaranda. ‘Some of the items from the past are very complicated to do today.’
Those that reappear have been reworked in modern, eco-friendly ways; take the 1971 ‘Gogo’ easy chair originally made with a carbon steel frame. It now features high-strength steel that emits 50 per cent less CO2 than its predecessor. Across the whole collection, plastic packaging has been replaced by paper where possible and more focus has been placed on flat pack. ‘Dis-assembly is as important as assembly for a nomadic generation always on the move,’ says Ejdemo, because it’s while moving that most breakages occur. Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad created the first flat-pack piece – the ‘Lövet’ coffee table – in 1956, and in homage to the company’s visionary founder, an ash version appears in Nytillverkad, in orange, green and blue.
Going forward, Nytillverkad will not be launched chronologically, and will include whimsical pieces too, ‘like those from the disco period of the 1980s and 1990s’, says Gustavsson.
This back-to-the-future collection is also great news for those who missed the boat first time around. Vintage Ikea pieces now trade for hefty price tags; the €25 ‘Medevi Brunn’ chair (2004) recently sold for €346 (proof, if any were needed, that Ikea pieces can stand the test of time). By its very nature, Nytillverkad will be stuffed with ready-made classics. And who can argue with that?
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Nytillverkad, Ikea's 80-anniversary collection, first drop now available with more coming in October 2023
Emma O'Kelly is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. She joined the magazine on issue 4 as news editor and since since then has worked in full and part time roles across many editorial departments. She is a freelance journalist based in London and works for a range of titles from Condé Nast Traveller to The Telegraph. She is currently working on a book about Scandinavian sauna culture and is renovating a mid century house in the Italian Lakes.
-
Derek Jarman's House: Inside Prospect Cottage
A new book shines a spotlight inside Derek Jarman's Dungeness 'escape house'
By Caragh McKay Published
-
Warren Street Hotel is a colourful marvel in downtown Tribeca
The Warren Street Hotel boasts a distinct blue façade by Stonehill Taylor and eclectic interiors by Kit Kemp Design Studio
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Herbar’s barrier cream repairs skin damage using medicinal mushrooms
Herbar has launched The Barrier Cream, which harnesses the healing power of mushrooms and adaptogens to repair, soothe and protect the skin barrier
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Misha Khan masters anti-conformism with a furniture collection inspired by human shapes
Misha Khan presents 'Morphologica' a collection including a sofa and an armchair for the eclectic Italian brand Meritalia, marking the American designer's first collaboration with a furniture brand
By Maria Cristina Didero Published
-
Ikea and Raw Color deliver a collection of vibrant crafts to cheer up your living space
Ikea and Raw Color present ‘Tesammans’, a collection full of playful designs, vibrant textures and an eye-catching colour palette
By Yoko Choy Published
-
Wallpaper* returns to Milan Design Week with a new exhibition at Triennale
Announcing Wallpaper* Class of ’24, our upcoming showcase of emerging global design talent, held at Triennale during Milan Design Week (16 – 21 April 2024) in collaboration with AHEC
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Salone del Mobile 2024: David Lynch will lead the fair’s new cultural approach
Salone del Mobile 2024 will take place from 16-21 April. The programme was just announced, with Eurocucina returning to the fair, SaloneSatellite celebrating 25 years of emerging design talent, and a new cultural programme that includes David Lynch’s Thinking Rooms
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Designing for Ikea: Gio Tirotto on the process of creating an Ikea chair
The first Italian designing for Ikea, Gio Tirotto tells Wallpaper* about the process of creating furniture for the most democratic design company
By Maria Cristina Didero Published
-
Ikea Life at Home Report imagines life in 2030
The latest Ikea Life at Home Report includes imagined scenarios to paint a picture of the Swedish company’s predictions for how we will live in 2030
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
2024 horoscope: design for every star sign
For the Wallpaper* 2024 horoscope, we asked Italian astrologist Lumpa what the year has in store, and what design objects each star sign will love
By Lumpa Published
-
Ikea Dajlien marks the company's home wellness and training equipment debut
During Miami Art Week 2023, Ikea presented the Dajlien collection, comprising 19 new wellness products and marking the Swedish company's training equipment debut
By Maria Sobrino Published