Design collective made their first joint textile collection for IKEA in 1978. With their colourful patterns, in many ways they depicted the playful, youthful aesthetic of the 1970s. The group included artistic multi-taskers and strong designers who all believed in bright colours and bold patterns.
The initiative for the collaboration came from product manager for textiles at IKEA, Vivianne Sjölin. She had known the group’s founder, designer Inez Svensson, since she studied under her at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. Inez had worked with IKEA back in the early Seventies, and she was also an important discussion partner for Vivianne when it came to trends and tendencies in textiles.
10-gruppen’s first joint collection for IKEA was a large one, remembers Vivianne – and therefore expensive to make: “I spent the entire pattern budget, and my boss reminded me of it at every Monday meeting… all the money! … There were more than ten patterns and fabrics by the metre. There were also a few big fabric pieces. So it was quite a collection.”
When 10-gruppen was dissolved in 2015, IKEA acquired their rich archive. In connection with that, the AVSIKTLIG collection was launched, in which some of the group’s members worked with young designers at IKEA. AVSIKTLIG was a tribute to the iconic collective, which is such an important part of Swedish design history.
