IKEA announces rich line up of music, new products, and new voices for Milan Design Week 2024

Padiglione Visconti, the 1244-square metre venue where over seventy-seven thousand joined the IKEA exhibition during Milan Design Week 2023, will be transformed into an IKEA playground. Expertly designed by long-time IKEA collaborators; architect Midori Hasuike and spatial designer Emerzon, the exhibition aims to spotlight the often contrasting, but frequently similar ways we deal with moving out on our own for the first time.

During the day, visitors will be able to explore the venue including the shop and newsstand areas where limited-edition merchandise will be available, and specially selected event magazines will be ripe for perusing. One of these magazines is Catalogue!!!, a zine exclusively created by DAZED and IKEA for 1^st. Catalogue!!! was inspired by digging into the archives of old IKEA catalogues, in particular editorial imagery from the early 2000s. But this new zine revives the spirit in a new way for the first time. Catalogue!!! explores object permanence, a look at the relationship young people have with objects in their home.

As always at Milan Design Week, the IKEA venue will be a haven for weary feet and hungry stomachs. The Mezzanine where dreamy room sets made up of IKEA bedroom classics will invite you to wake up by having a lie-down. The restaurant will serve a range of affordable food and drink, including Hotdog Extravaganza, a selection of IKEA hotdogs designed exclusively in the theme of the event.

At night, the venue transforms into a destination for music lovers across the board, from HipHop to Disco, and Funk to Techno, and much more. In continuing with the IKEA presence at recent Milan Design Weeks, the music programme will be sure to delight. IKEA has paired up with Italian music crews including Burro Studio, Akeem, Ciao Discoteca Italiana, Threes Production and Slipmode to spotlight artists from the rich local music scene.

New products will also be revealed. After an infamous failed attempt at introducing inflatable furniture, the new BRÄNNBOLL gaming collection will include the first successful inflatable chair from IKEA. It will join a series of multifunctional furniture, smart storage solutions and accessories developed to support the diverse and evolving needs for casual gaming in the home. Also revealed will be two iconic IKEA products from the latest launch of the Nytillverkad collection. These products were originally developed, and have now been updated, by Japanese designer, Noboru Nakamura. The Nytillverkad collection gives IKEA an opportunity to honour the legacy of IKEA designers while celebrating their unique take on design. Visit the 1^st exhibition in Milan as tribute is paid to Noboru Nakamura’s vision and unveil how his timeless designs have been remade to meet the future.

Young creators and collaborators will take part in 1^st throughout the week. Students from Istituto Marangoni Milano – The School of Design, have paired up with IKEA for Milan Design Week. They worked with mentors and IKEA to design creative responses to the question, “How do you imagine your first home?”. Visitors to the venue will see the students present their work on Wednesday, 17 April. Creators from Japan and Italy will also bring their interpretation of 1^st to the stage, including Japanese breakdancer, Soraki, and Italian music artists Chiamamifaro and Rea, the latter of whom is soon to release her first album, inspired by firsts in her life.

During this Milan Design Week, the IKEA presence reaches beyond Padiglione Visconti. IKEA Italy is supporting The Glitch Camp by IED (Istituto Europeo di Design), an urban campsite that is free for young students. The aim is to democratise the Milan Design Week experience. IKEA Italy will provide “perfect sleep kits” for each tent, combining life at home expertise with affordable and functional products. After The Glitch Camp closes, the perfect sleep kits will be donated and allocated to projects in the Milan community.

Architect: Midori Hasuike
Spatial Designer: Emerzon
Lighting Designer: Anders Heberling

About Ingka Group

With IKEA retail operations on 31 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents about 90% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on www.Ingka.com.