Unless you have been living under a rock of late you will be aware that luxe fashion house Balenciaga recently brought out a large blue tote – retailing at a cool $2,145 – that bears more than a little resemblance to Ikea’s iconic blue shopping bag, Frakta.
But far from being annoyed by the dupe, this week Ikea has reasserted its own tote as the original, with the below post appearing on its retail sites around the world and on its social channels.
The Swedish creative agency ACNE is behind the tongue-in-cheek post, instructing consumers on how to distinguish an original Frakta from a fake.
“I wanted to act fast, so we contacted our client the day after and I said, ‘We’ll have creative work ready within two hours,” ACNE’s Creative Director Johan Holgrem explained in a press release.
The post, unsurprisingly, went viral quickly, and no-one in Ikea took any offence at Balenciaga “stealing” their design.
It’s “unexpected and brilliant,” Holgren said. “I like the flirt, and I thought, ‘Why not flirt back?’ And we did.”
