The IKEA: Magical Patterns exhibition opened at the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh last month, celebrating the Swedish design giant’s innovative textile design history with a thoughtfully curated selection from its archives. Stockholm-based artist and designer Ida Petterson Preutz’s ANNIKEN–the distinctive and ebullient pattern of florets of broccoli against pink and white stripes–provides the show’s lead imagery. Commissioned in 2014, the fun, colourful pattern is a testament to the exhibition’s underlying narrative regarding how IKEA served as a creative lab for emerging designers: offering space to experiment, take risks, and produce bold, joyful textiles that captured the imagination of everyday customers and design aficionados alike.
Growing up in Sweden, Ida was very familiar with popular IKEA textiles designs such as RANDIG BANAN, the well-known monochrome stripe with cartoon-like bananas, the original of which, complete with paper banana cut-outs, is displayed in the exhibition. Though not a commercial bestseller in 1986 (surprisingly), the design, along with others, came to embody IKEA’s fresh, playful approach to fabric and inspired generations of designers. Of her inclusion in the show and her place among these iconic prints, Ida says, ‘it’s very, very nice because they influenced me…the broccoli [print] was made not because of them, but because of their form language, I got mine.’
IKEA’s approach to commission and collaboration has long embraced both established and upcoming designers; platforming their work on a unique, global stage. ‘I think there is something really open and curious and generous about how IKEA does that,’ says Anna Sandberg Falk, curator at the IKEA Museum. She also notes how longstanding many of IKEA's relationships with its designers is, pointing out the richness and success of those partnerships. Speaking at the exhibition’s opening panel, Anna explained how IKEA’s initial indifference towards its textile department actually granted designers the freedom to innovate and experiment.
One of IKEA’s most celebrated collaborations was with Tio-Gruppen—the Group of Ten—a renowned Swedish design collective responsible for some of IKEA’s most memorable patterns. IKEA not only provided space for experimentation but fostered a legacy of collaborative relationships that would cement its place in design history. Ida herself collaborated with members of the Group of Ten: “That is like Swedish design history. I grew up with them and really admire their patterns, especially Carl [Johan de Geer], who made the palm tree [fabric featured] in the exhibition.”
The inspiration flows beyond the professional design world. For Ida, one of the greatest joys is seeing how the public transforms her IKEA patterns into clothing. “I always like to be clothed in my art, so when people send me photos of what they’ve made, I’m really happy.”
IKEA’s ongoing collaborations with fresh talent continue to take centre stage. In June, they announced an upcoming collection with Swedish designers Gustaf Westman and Evalina Kroon, set to launch this autumn, which will include new textiles.
Magical Patterns is at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh until January 2026.
