When I think of IKEA, I feel nothing. Yet the Swedish-founded, DIY-assembly furniture conglomerate is known for inspiring bad associations. It’s where couples break up. Where dreams go to die. Where they somehow screwed up meatballs. Where it suddenly dawns on you that minimalism is bullshit and you want to live, but don’t know how.
Which is all to say, a collaboration with Solange Knowles and her culture hub, Saint Heron, strikes me as a wise branding move.
The partnership was announced on Thursday alongside this video of nothing happening for 20 seconds. It’s conceptual.
Marcus Engman, the head of design at IKEA Range & Supply, said in a statement on Thursday, “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.”
It appears the project exists in the sweet spot between a college thesis and product development. Surely this will be the most hotly anticipated beige chair the world has ever known.