For those who can't afford a Balenciaga "towel skirt", Ikea has made it easier and cheaper. The skirt that arrived on Balenciaga’s website last year for $925 triggered an outrage on the internet. While social media trolled the luxury fashion house for the product, an unlikely competitor emerged. Ikea, known for its value offerings, quickly jumped on the bandwagon and launched a towel skirt of its own.
Here's why the Ikea towel skirt makes more sense
The Spanish luxury fashion house has a history of turning ordinary things into fashion. It has previously launched several outrageously expensive products like a leather trash bag for $1,800 and pre-destroyed sneakers that look ordinary but cost a fortune.
The Balenciaga towel skirt, part of its 2024 spring collection, was just another addition to this list. On its debut, the skirt was promoted as made of 100% cotton, available in many sizes. As per the official website, the skirt featured two buttons at the waistline, had the option of adding a belt, and carried a Balenciaga logo embroidered on the front.
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While those in the fashion business defended it as an expression of creativity, others saw it as nothing but a repulsively expensive towel. As soon as the collection was unveiled and Balenciaga put the skirt up for pre-order, a storm erupted on the social media.
Gen Z beauty trailblazer Ebboni shared a parody of the pricey piece of fashion on TikTok, with the caption, “POV: You bought the $925 Balenciaga towel skirt…Or get it for free out of your closet," as she wore a comedic replica.
Soon, Ikea saw an opportunity and launched its own towel skirt for only about $900 cheaper. The Swedish company created an entire campaign out of it with a Vinarn bath towel that had a striking resemblance to Balenciaga’s “skirt”.
In its Instagram post, a man wearing sunglasses and a hoodie sported the Vinarn towel around his waist, mimicking Balenciaga’s towel skirt. Ikea’s tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign showcased the towel's versatility and took a dig at the absurdity of high fashion pricing by offering the product for $20.
Users were beyond impressed by the company's creative take. "Take that Balenciaga!" wrote @demonkittyshop. "Ikea you ate this," added @xuliwenxuan.
Long-standing rivalry
This wasn't the first time Ikea took a hit at the luxury fashion house. Back in 2017, Balenciaga introduced a large tote bag that looked awfully similar to Ikea's blue shopping bag. The only difference was that Balenciaga's bag was made of leather and it sold for a whopping $2,145.
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As memes flooded the internet, Ikea launched an ad campaign to promote its "ORIGINAL" tote bag that was massively cheaper at $0.99.
With the help of Acne, a Stockholm-based Swedish creative agency, the furniture giant released the hilarious advert to help people differentiate between the original Frakta tote bag and Balenciaga’s expensive Arena Shopper tote bag.
