Virgil Abloh’s Collection For IKEA Is Almost Here – Here’s How To Make Sure You Don’t Miss Out

Virgil Abloh is undoubtedly one of the fashion world’s busiest multi-hyphenates. Not content with the success of his own label OFF-WHITE (most recently responsible for one of Hailey Bieber's three wedding dresses) and with his history-making gig as Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of menswear (he is the first African-American man to take the role in the fashion house’s history), plus an in-demand collaboration with Nike, he’s also found the time to join forces with everyone’s favourite Swedish flat-pack purveyor, IKEA, for a limited edition interiors collection.

Entitled MARKERAD, the collaboration was announced last year – to much fanfare. Immediately, fans of Abloh and his work were frantic, trying to discover how and when they could buy the interiors collection. A year is a long time to wait, and interest has only grown in this time. As a result of this 'unprecedented demand', as IKEA put it, the brand has decided to ask people to sign up for a limited number of free tickets via Eventbrite at 10am on 18 October. Fans who secure a place at their chosen participating store (IKEA Dublin, Croydon and Wembley) can then purchase up to five pieces from the collection when they visit on their allocated day on 1, 2 or 3 November. Access will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The hype is, in part, due to Abloh's drip-feed of teasers on social media and in interviews. With over four million followers on Instagram alone, not to mention a hugely successful collaboration with Nike (which enjoyed sell-out success), Abloh has quickly transcended the fashion industry to become a cultural icon, of sorts, for some.

The collection itself is designed to be 'fashion you can't wear', and it features 15 pieces infused with Abloh's usual wit and cultural references. From carrier bags emblazoned with the word 'sculpture' to Abloh's own riff on the Mona Lisa, the idea is to give people the opportunity to bring high fashion into their home without the price to match. One of the items that IKEA is expecting to be particularly popular is the Receipt Rug, designed to look like a giant IKEA receipt. At £75, those lucky enough to secure tickets to shop the collection will be limited to buying only one of these each.

Speaking about the collaboration, Abloh said: 'I want each item to bring people a sense of pride, and I want great design to be the biggest reason why you get it. It’s about elevating the anonymous, everyday icons that we use without noticing. When we put a doorstop on one of the legs of an ordinary chair, we create something unexpected – an interruption.'

'This collaboration has been the most rigorous of any design project I’ve done. There are only a few moments in a design career that you get to work with the absolute best in class, and my concept of design resonates with IKEA’s democratic design principles, with the idea that great design can be accessible for the many people.'

So, set your alarms for 18 October, when you can sign up here for tickets. And if you do enter the fray on either 1, 2 or 3 November, we can only wish you luck.

SEE: The MARKERAD IKEA Collection Designed By Virgil Abloh