Kanye West wants to design for Ikea — but like DJ Khaled would (probably) say: “They don’t want you to design for Ikea.”
Kanye expressed his desire to collaborate with the Swedish company back in March, tweeting, “Super inspired by my visit to Ikea today, really amazing company… my mind is racing with the possibilities…”
And that’s sort of how many of us feel when we visit Ikea. Except, those “possibilities” involve deciding what warmth rating we prefer on our comforter. Not so for Mr. West, however. He wants to be the Steve Jobs of complicated-to-assemble furniture, and he reiterated this dream during an interview with BBC Radio 1.
“I have to work with Ikea,” said ‘Ye, before shooting out an idea for a “minimalist apartment inside of a college dorm.”
IKEA’s response? “We would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.” Just kidding: “We are really flattered for the attention around the visit, and also in Kanye West’s high interest in Ikea … but we can confirm that we have no collaboration at this moment.”
Although it’s not a flat-out no, it’s probably not the enthusiastic response Kanye hoped for. So why wouldn’t Ikea be on board?
We have a few guesses. Competition is stiff. If Ikea has yet to work with engineers who fixed its deathly dressers problem, then maybe a Kanye line isn’t very high on its priority list. Or maybe the problem is concept development. Or lack thereof. We applaud Kanye’s enthusiasm, but these sketches of his bed design aren’t exactly going to have furniture conglomerates flocking.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/716375879715139584
Then there’s Kanye’s #1 design rule: It must be Kim-approved. And let’s face it, not everyone is ready for their bedroom and “Kardashian” to become synonymous.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/716377473387077635
But here are a few reasons why the collab might/should work:
- Adidas + Kanye West. The not Nike brand is super pleased with the results of the clothing and sneaker collaboration, which includes the spectacle that was his fashion show/album listening party. So if there’s a Madison Square Garden equivalent of the home furnishings world, expect it to be sold out (with the best seating ever).
- Someone’s already gotten started. A French designer reportedly came up with these chair concepts inspired by the rapper’s Nike Air Yeezy II called “Easy Too.” Clever.
- This is one degree of separation from happening. This year, IKEA launched its first collection with a fashion designer: Katie Eary, a Kanye collaborator who’s credited the rapper for being an early (and current) inspiration. The #1 lesson she learned from Kanye? “Anything is possible.”
With that said, look out for the inevitable IKEA + Kanye West collaboration, the Yeezy Boost Bed, to hit stores near you.
