IKEA and Swedish House Mafia redesign FRAKTA bag for music producers and fans

Like design, music is personal

The upbringing of IKEA designer Friso Wiersma in the Netherlands brimmed with church choirs and times of leading the vocals of punk rock and pop bands, which he still does today. For the designer who lives a double life as a singer, being surrounded by music and musical instruments signify direct creativity, savoring the moment and flow of music through rhythm and lyrics. ‘Music is very much connected to a way of life, just like design. It’s so personal’, says Friso. ‘Both can really make a space and say a lot about who you are as a person, what you value, and how you look at the world. They really go hand in hand.’ The ties he has with music bloomed into his collaboration with electronic music artists Swedish House Mafia – formed by Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso – to reimagine IKEA’s famed FRAKTA bag and a series of home furniture to be displayed at Milan Design Week 2022.

Before dipping their creative minds and hands into the project, the team quizzed how they could make life easier for those listening to and creating music. The experiences the collective brought to the table ushered them to look toward what IKEA already had and repurpose its design to cater to music devotees. ‘People already use our products to make music in their homes today, with simple setups in their living room or bedroom. We have looked at those setups, the needs they have, and how we can improve upon them,’ explains Friso.

images from IKEA

Music-inspired collection

Last year in September, the collective announced their collaboration for music-inspired home furnishings, designed for producers, performers, and at-home music listeners. Today, IKEA unveil the first products of collaborations, the three Friso and Swedish House Mafia-remixed versions of IKEA’s FRAKTA bag through an accessories bag, a laptop bag, and a vinyl records bag.

The accessories bag is equipped with compartments to declutter tangled wires and easily put them into the case or pull them out. The shoulder bag comes with padding to protect laptops or gadgets. The most FRAKTA-inspired one folds up into a portable bag and can expand within a quick zip, in a perfect-square shape, to fill in with vinyl records and other space-hungry objects. ‘The nice thing about FRAKTA is that it’s already proven how strong it is. But I wanted the handle to be a bit sturdier, so the ribbon has a thicker weave, like a car seatbelt,’ adds Friso.

Friso admits the mutual meticulousness of the collective made the series possible. ‘It is so nice to work with people like the guys in Swedish House Mafia. They have a strong creative vision in everything that they do, and they are people who, in a good way, want to have control over every small little detail. As a designer, I am the same. I am meticulous, I love solving and thinking about even the smallest little stitch in a bag. It has been a really good match in that sense,’ he says.

IKEA and Swedish House Mafia redesign FRAKTA bag for music producers and fans

Tour and concert experiences

Swedish House Mafia built the design insights with Friso from their tour experience of having to lug cables, connectors, laptops, accessories, and even vinyl records on the road. With the collection, bringing the essential tools to make, produce, and share music – most of them require abundant spaces – poses no difficulty.

‘FRAKTA is one of those IKEA classics that everyone has. We wanted to do our take on it from a music creation perspective depending on what type of gear you carry with you on the go. Our different takes on the bag are themes shared for the whole collection. All items in the collection have a timeless theme with a distinct trace of our DNA,’ says Swedish House Mafia. The collection will also include more than 20 furniture pieces, interior solutions, and accessories for music producers, DJs, and all creators with ‘limited means but unlimited creativity’ as IKEA words it.

The selected furniture products from the upcoming collection will be revealed on June 9th as part of IKEA Festival at Milan Design Week 2022.

accessories bag by IKEA and Swedish House Mafia