Its been months since Ikea and Virgil Abloh started building suspense around its upcoming collaboration, dubbed Markerad. Launching in all Ikea stores in late 2019, it will be the fruit of nearly two years of labour between the Off-White creator and artistic director of Louis Vuitton men, and the Swedish brand. In anticipation of the launch, Ikea and the designer will open a pop-up shop during Paris Fashion Week where four carpets developed for the occasion will be exclusively available for purchase.

Located in the heart of The City of Fashion and Design, at 34 Quai d’Austerlitz, in the 13th arrondissement, the pop-up shop has been baptized “Still Loading”. It will open on Saturday, September 29th from 11am to 8pm, two days after Virgil Abloh’s Off-White show.
 
“We just couldn’t wait […] we constantly get the question when we will make it available to people. So we decided to respond to this by speeding things up a bit and releasing a few rugs,” said Henrik Most, creative director at Ikea. 
 
For his part, Virgil Abloh says: “These rugs can become art pieces you put on the wall just as much as functional objects in a home.” 

Although the prices of these first four limited-edition pieces are yet to be announced, they’re unlikely to scare off Virgil Abloh fans.
 
“Fashion designers are good storytellers, effective at reaching specific target groups. In this case, a younger audience,” explained Most to FashionNetwork.com last May, regarding Ikea’s interest in working with designers. 
 
Fashion enthusiasts attending Fashion Week certainly won’t be able to resist the pull of “Still Loading” either: it’s a case of perfect timing for the American designer and the Swedish brand.