Last week, high fashion brand Balenciaga had the audacity to sell a copycat version of Ikea's $0.99 Frakta take-home bag for a whopping $2,145.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
The internet laughed, we were appalled, and everyone questioned this thing we call "fashion."
Now, the furniture giant has responded to the Balenciaga copy by asserting its bag as the original with a post on its sites clearly directed at the fashion house.
According to Creativity, Swedish agency ACNE created this ad to instruct customers on how to distinguish between Ikea's genius original bag design and Balenciaga's fake. Here's how you can tell the real from the knock-off:
SHAKE IT. If it rustles, it's the real deal.
MULTIFUNCTIONAL. It can carry hockey gear, bricks, and even water.
THROW IT IN THE DIRT. A true FRAKTA is simply rinsed off with a garden hose when dirty.
PRICE TAG. Only $0.99.
No one would dare throw their $2,145 Balenciaga tote in the dirt. Fake! Fake! Would you use a $2,145 tote to carry all your important bricks? No way! Fake!
This responses comes soon after the Balenciaga bag hit the market. ACNE Creative Director Johan Holgrem said, "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 fashion photographer Anders Kylberg even shot the Frakta bag in a studio to rival the stylings used by Balenciaga to advertise their bag.
Holgrem wasn't offended by the copycat design. He said it's "unexpected and brilliant."
"I like the flirt," he explained. "And I thought, 'Why not flirt back?' And we did."
Flirt they did. Ikea brought the sass, and proved once and for all that they've got the market covered on blue, plastic, crinkly tote bags.
