Ikea responds brilliantly to the Balenciaga £1,670 bag which looks like their iconic tote bag
Well played, Ikea
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Your support makes all the difference.Ikea has responded to a luxury fashion house new £1,670 tote bag which bears striking similarity to the Swedish brand’s iconic 40 pence Frakta carrier.
Last week, French designer brand Balenciaga debuted their Arena extra-large shopping brand “constructed of blue wrinkled, glazed leather”. However, the reception was less awe of the product but a sense of déjà vu.
Initially Ikea said they were deeply flattered by the resemblance and said “nothing beats the versatility of a great big blue bag”. Now, they have gone one step further with an advertisement campaign asserting their originality.
The Frakta bag appears below the slogan ‘The Original’ in the new advert launched by the agency Acne.
Subsequent adverts include a handy guide to identifying a real Frakta bag and how to avoid fakes. Tips on verifying its authenticity include shaking it and “if it rustles, it’s the real deal”, checking how multifunctional it is, throwing it in the dirt: “A true FRAKTA is simply rinsed off with a garden hose” and then the price tag which should reach no more than $0.99 (£0.40).
Acne’s creative director Johan Holmegren told Creative Review they hired a fashion photographer to shoot the bag in his studio “with that same feeling and lighting as the Balenciaga bag”.
Balenciaga declined to comment when approached by The Independent.
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