If you’ve ever bought a piece of ready-to-assemble furniture, it’s likely you’re the owner of Ikea’s ubiquitous Frakta bag. Right now, the noisy blue tote is probably stuffed in your closet or under your sink, being used for dirty socks or housing that collection of empty beer bottles accumulated over the last few days. It’s no wonder so many people keep these utility bags around the house; they’re vastly functional and cost 99¢. However, if you’re searching for a more glamorous version, Balenciaga’s “Arena” handbag is uncannily similar in appearance and can be yours for a cool $2,145.
Unsurprisingly, the Swedish furniture brand, famous for its pocket friendly price point, found all of this very comical. In response, Ikea’s creative team collaborated with advertising agency Acne and created its own ad campaign on social media explaining the difference between Balenciaga’s “knock-off” versus Ikea’s “original”. Morten Kjaer from Ikea’s Creative Hub told Adweek about his vision for the mock campaign: “We went to one of our fashion photographers, Anders Kylberg, and shot the bag in his studio, with that same feeling and lighting as the Balenciaga bag”. The French fashion house still hasn’t responded to confirm the source of inspiration, but I don’t think anyone is expecting any surprises on that front. Now, the only question remaining is which bag you want in your closet? In this case, it’s probably the knock-off.