IKEA’s New Collection Is Playful, Vibrant, and Kind of Weird

EDITOR'S NOTE: This post originally ran on May 30, 2017. We're republishing it because the collection just went on sale. Have fun!

Late last week, IKEA offered a first look at its limited edition STUNSIG line, set to hit stores next month. The line features the creations of six designers from across the Western hemisphere, from the United States to Denmark to France. It's an uncompromisingly bizarre collection. Funky prints of produce adorn cushions and dinnerware; bed textiles are emblazoned with flora and fauna.

What unifies these creations is, according to Creative Leader Henrik Most, an aesthetic concern with “rare, different, daring, and fashionable prints, patterns, and color compositions.” He perceives this forward-facing ethos to be the essence of IKEA’s brand, and he encourages customers to embrace this collection's whimsical attitude.

Given those parameters, this line could've so easily been too tryingly edgy, yet I'd say it amounts to something more of a pleasant oddball—in other words, I'm compelled to bring it into my home. And the ad campaign is deliriously strange, with linens spilling out of washing machines and draped over the shoulders of models.

Of the line’s offerings, I’m perhaps most drawn to Malcolm Stuart’s textiles with sad, surprised cucumbers. “These cucumbers have problems,” Stuart, based in the States, explains. “Some are sliced, others think they’re soon to be sliced and one seems shocked by something on their phone.”

Incredible. May all our pillow gourds have problems! Take a look at a sample of photographs from the campaign below:

Browse the rest of IKEA's STUNSIG line here.