IKEA UK trendjacks Balenciaga's US$925 towel skirt with creative version

IKEA UK, a part of the Swedish international retailer, has trendjacked Balenciaga's US$925 towel skirt with its version at a much cheaper price.

This comes following the Spanish luxury fashion house recently released the Balenciaga Towel Skirt in Beige as part of its Spring 2024 Collection, retailing at US$925. According to its website, the Italy-made knee-length garment features the Balenciaga logo embroidered tone-on-tone at the front.

Photographs of a model donning it over a pair of baggy trousers and a black hooded sweatshirt accompanied the product listing.

The product launch has drawn mixed reactions from netizens across social platforms, with some criticising the use of a household item in high fashion and others poking fun at the design, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on IKEA UK's Instagram.

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In response, IKEA UK introduced its VINARN Towel Skirt on Instagram with a tongue-in-cheek caption calling it a “2024 Spring fashion essential”. The VINARN Towel Skirt was pictured styled almost identically to the Balenciaga original, retailing for approximately US$17.

Netizens were quickly delighted by the move, with comments on IKEA UK’s post commending its social media team for a joke “well played”. A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE found that the post has since garnered over 40,000 likes on Instagram, at the time of writing.

IKEA has been known for its humourous and innovative ideas. Closer to home, IKEA Singapore celebrated its 45th anniversary in the country in April 2023. To honour the occasion, it launched an extra-long version of its iconic IKEA pencil as a nod to fans who had supported the brand over many years.

“We thought it would be fun to create some nostalgia with the iconic IKEA pencil that we all know and love”, explained Asheen Naidu, executive creative director at TBWA\Singapore, which was the creative agency behind the concept. They were joined by media agency PhD Singapore.

As part of the celebrations, customers could also enjoy other long-themed social activations and in-store executions at the IKEA Singapore stores, including a 12-inch-long hotdog.

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