IKEA, which released a rug collection in collaboration with Virgil Abloh nationwide on December 16th, held a pre-launch event called "STILL LOADING" at Warehouse Terrada in Tennoz, Tokyo on the 15th, the day before.



This event, the second such event held worldwide following a pop-up event held in Paris at the end of September, saw Virgil Abloh himself and IKEA of Sweden's creative leader, Henrik Most, visiting Japan for a talk show. Guest facilitator was Kobukuro's Shunsuke Kuroda, who represented OFF-WHITE c/o VIRGIL ABLOH™ fans.

More than 10,000 people applied for this event, with approximately 150 selected. Of those, only 100 were selected by lottery to purchase the rugs, making it a very competitive opportunity. The four rugs were installed like art pieces, each based on a different theme. Design drawings for the furniture series "MARKELAD," which is scheduled to launch in November next year, as well as prototypes of chairs and beds, were also on display, with this rug collection being positioned as a preview of that.


"With this collection, I wanted to convey that rugs are not just something to lay on the floor to soften it, but can also serve as art pieces. The "Marquerad Collection," which is scheduled to launch next year, has been specially tailored to fit people living alone in Tokyo. I believe that fashion, music, and art are fundamentally for young people. I hope to inspire people in their 16s to early 20s to choose furniture in the same way they buy art and fashion," said Virgil.

Ikea's creative leader Henrik, who sparked the collaboration, shared the inside story, saying, "I first met Virgil by chance at an exhibition in 2016, and that's how we decided to work together. We hit it off right away and decided to do something together, but home furnishings require a different process to fashion, and it takes at least two years to bring something to market. Time was the biggest challenge in this collaboration."


Kobukuro's Shunsuke Kuroda, a huge fan of Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh™, spoke enthusiastically about the collaboration, saying, "When I wear Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh™ clothes when I'm on stage, I feel excited and empowered. Just seeing the newly released chairs gets me excited."

This event was held specially in Tokyo, which Virgil describes as "one of the most influential places on Earth, making me think about the differences in the way I think and view things compared to the environment I grew up in." The rug, limited to 1,000 pieces, was available at IKEA stores nationwide and sold out immediately after release, becoming a "mythical" item.