I kind of want to punctuate this title with a question mark but I know that will bother me a bit. (* edit, I did!) Ikea's recent collaboration with esteemed (and one of my faves) Finnish brand is a bit confusing and doesn't really read "Marimekko" to me like its past work with Target. Instead, it's a much more muted and plainly graphic approach with a strange leaf focus that reads more like produce without the endearing primary colors and retro quality of a grocery store vegetable aisle.
They have built the collection around the idea of a home sauna which seems odd to me because who tf has that, but hey, we can dream I guess? (*Note: apparently rhubarb leaves grow around saunas in Finland) Although having such a space seems complicated to me and not what I would use extra square footage for in my home or yard. I think Ikea is trying to combine and capitalize on the wellness and stay-at-home trends that have become so overwhelmingly rampant, verging on toxic.
The pressure to be constantly well or at least in the pursuit of it is exhausting and irritating. What is this impulse a distraction from? Why do corporations want us to obsess on this way of living? Do they have a genuine investment in our well-being? I think not, but it's an amusing concept.
Anyway, this isn't to hate on Ikea or Marimekko because I am quite fond of them both, but there is something slightly condescending about wellness trends being constantly pushed onto society as if the world can be fixed by buying more of the latest pale and unassuming objects.
What I think is lacking from this collaboration is Marimekko's touch! This reads like any other Ikea collection and I think it's a bit of a wasted opportunity for a fun, unique diffusion line. Last year's Zandra Rhodes release was much more successful, in my opinion, and I hope that Ikea and Marimekko will work together again in a way that is truer to the textiles house.
Until then, I will highlight my favorite items from the drop and look forward to acquiring my own striped robe!! It's an amazing color and shape combination:
