IKEA launches lifestyle and apparel collections inspired by Thailand and Japan

A creative and multi-purpose brand from Thailand was exactly where IKEA planned to turn to for a solution-based collection influenced by Asia. When the primary objective was to explore small living spaces and incorporating multi-functionality, Bangkok’s popular clothing, lifestyle and F&B brand Greyhound Original seemed to fit the bill perfectly for a creative collaboration. Introducing SAMMANKOPPLA.

Looking further east, the Swedish company also just announced a Japan-only collection for their Harajuku store in Tokyo. Keeping to a minimal theme, the capsule, titled EFTERTRADA, includes apparel like t-shirts and hoodies, eco-totes, towels and a collapsible umbrella, all underlined by IKEAs signature blue and yellow palette. The most emblematic piece in the brand's first original apparel collection has to be the ‘IKEA’ back-stamped-logo hoodie made with eco-friendly cotton.

Both collections were just launched in July with the EFTERTRADA just fully releasing the Japan-exclusive range today, and available here.

Functional storage is noticeably a priority for the SAMMANKOPPLA collection, with several items being more maneuverable than their original products, along with some great branding crossovers that are inspired by the modern street style of Bangkok, while incorporating Greyhound Original’s memorable houndstooth print almost throughout. It’s a refreshing collection that upholds millennial simplicity, and feels rather needed at a time with enough chaos around.

Greyhound is known for their accessible clothing lines that are simplistic, comfort driven and minimalistic, highly representative of the aesthetic goals of middle-class Asia today. “We know that people today want their personalities to be shown in their home. At the same time both space and money is limited when living in big cities. Since multi-function and creativity is key in order to enable both a small space living solution and an expressive design piece, we turned to Greyhound Original.”, says Michael Nikolic, Creative leader at IKEA of Sweden. 2020 marks fourty years for Greyhound Originals as a fashion brand, and twenty two years as a more developed lifestyle and food staple that has been exported to London, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

In keeping with modern and conscious times, the collaboration has taken into full account the 3 Rs — reusing, re-purposing and recycling. The whole collection is affordably priced, and is influenced by sustainable multi-functionality.

And on a side note, why else do we think of IKEA? Because most of our records have been very perfectly and comfortably shelved in their units all over the world, for many years. So put your mind at ease while checking out the SAMMANKOPPLA collection below and you can find out more here through a video from IKEA’s newsroom.