To be frank, IKEA’s latest collection, GILTIG, is absolutely cray-cray. A unique collaboration with London-based menswear designer Katie Eary, the range of tableware and home textiles is guaranteed to turn up the senses.
Full of gobsmacking patterns (I’m talking googly-eyed fish, blood-red brains and startled-looking cats), Katie herself will tell you her work is in your face, over the top and too much. But that’s just how she likes it. “I always make the reference to contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas. Their work has too much colour, is overtly sexual and there are dead animals everywhere. They turn everything upside down and leave you with a feeling of love or hate. That’s the feeling I want to emulate in my work.”
Limited edition, the GILTIG collection is the first in a series of collaborations with fashion designers – and a way for IKEA to explore new ways of thinking. While Katie had never designed home furnishings, as a print-based designer, who favours unique patterns and colour mixes – all made possible through digital printing, it seemed like a natural progression. “GILTIG was always going to be a print-based collection. The idea of creating something amazing on screen and knowing it’s going to look the same when you put it on a product is very appealing to someone like me. Digital print is photo real whereas 2D print is just so basic and boring. I want the colour to make the eyes hurt, that’s what I always say.”
Made up of plates, cups, bowls, lamp shades, cushion covers, tea towels, aprons and tote bags (and a great deal more), Katie believes a good home is not about having lots of flashy things, but about having things that complement your personality. “A decade or so ago, you could get an idea about who a person was from their CDs or books. Now it seems that, as far as the home goes, furniture and personal bits and pieces are the last things left that show your true identity. When you walk into a home, it’s like you’re walking into that person’s brain.”
With a collection that’s based on a mad dinner party with fish that jump off the plates, bowls that look you in the eye and cups brimming with cats, it’s sure to make your home stand out from the rest.
Available from April.
