Change is afoot for Swedish furniture giant Ikea. Not only have they enlisted Danish design company Hay to redesign their iconic Frakta bags, but they have also partnered with British designer Tom Dixon to create their next collection of modern seating.
First and foremost though, the reinvention of the blue and yellow Frakta bags: Wallpaper* Power Listers Rolf and Mette Hay’s versatile version of holdalls will take a more ‘long-lasting’ approach. Gone will be the bold colours, replaced instead by forest green straps and a chequered white and green woven fabric.
Set to be released in 2017, the muted bags will accompany a ‘new collection for socialising in the living room.’ The line of furniture and accessories—including a chair, bench, table and desk lamp—will have ‘a classic Scandinavian feel, with light colours, high quality and clean design.’
Tom Dixon has also been revealed to be working with the furniture giant, creating a range that promises to ‘explore comfortable, modular, flexible and lightweight seating for the modern home.’
‘We are in the midst of a huge revolution in how people create, manufacture and consume,’ Tom Dixon said in a statement, revealing that he hopes his aluminium-framed sofa may overtake the brand’s best-selling Klippan sofa in popularity.
Both collaborations were made at Ikea’s Democratic Design Day in Sweden last week, the firm's annual conference where the Wallpaper* Design Award-winning collection by Ilse Crawford was announced last year.
Hay’s new collaboration will include accessories, including lighting
The collaboration will also include furniture such as a chair and table, designed in light colours
Set to be released in 2017, the collection is created with the idea of ’socialising in the living room’ in mind
British designer Tom Dixon, pictured with Marcus Engman, Ikea’s head of Design
INFORMATION
Photography: Courtesy of IKEA
-
Beloved British screenwriter Dennis Potter inspires an exhibition with a difference at Studio VoltaireHilary Lloyd's multi-faceted exhibition at Studio Voltaire considers Dennis Potter's life and work, from much-loved TV classics to power inequalities
-
Insert here: London Design Festival gets intimate with insertable designAt London Design Festival, Heirloom Studio showcases 36 objects – some life-saving, some pleasure-giving, all made to go inside the body
-
Postcard from Helsinki Design Week 2025Helsinki Design Week turns 20 this year. Celebrating two decades of design, core themes of this year revolve around happiness and optimism: here are design critic Hugo Macdonald's ten highlights
-
‘I don't take myself too seriously’: Gustaf Westman on designing for joy with IkeaIn Seoul, Ikea launches its collaboration with Swedish designer Gustaf Westman, bringing his signature whimsy and colour to the global stage – served with a side of meatballs
-
Five of our favourite furniture reissues from 3 Days of Design 2025At the Copenhagen event, several brands brought masterpieces from the past back to life – here’s our pick of the furniture revivals, from sofas to lighting
-
Wall lamps for every roomThe best wall lamps and where to find them: elevate your space with our curated edit of sconces and wall-mounted designs
-
Peek inside London’s One Park Drive penthouses by Herzog & de MeuronHerzog & de Meuron unveil bespoke penthouses at One Park Drive tower in Canary Wharf with furnishings and styling by Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio
-
Ikea ‘Obegränsad’ tech-friendly furniture is pitched at home studio owners and designersSwedish House Mafia, the electronic music collective, has applied its considerable experience to Ikea’s new furniture collection, ‘Obegränsad’, designed to create better spaces for creative home workers of all stripes
-
Herman Miller x Hay: Eames classics reimaginedThe new Herman Miller x Hay collection revisits designs by Charles and Ray Eames with updated colours and materials – soon available across North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa
-
Clean air for all with Ikea’s newest domestic designNew Ikea air purifier Starkvind is designed to enhance your living space, and doubles as a side table
-
Doshi Levien unveils new modular sofa for HayHay and Doshi Levien unveil their latest design collaboration: the ‘Quilton’ family of modular sofas, with a distinctive, sartorially inspired design
