This summer, IKEA Museum’s exuberant textile exhibition will debut at Dovecot Studios on 18th July 2025, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh Art Festival, through to 17th January 2026, following a successful season at the IKEA Museum in Älmhult, Sweden.
‘Magical Patterns’ is ambitious and unique in its scope, showcasing the breadth and depth of IKEA’s textile department across 60 years, demonstrating how the furniture giant’s commitment to innovation and experiment has helped to put Swedish design on the map.
Now, with 180 designs on display, the exhibition highlights how many artists and designers have been involved with IKEA’s iconic pattern work over the years – from heritage Swedish designers such as Inez Svensson, Göta Trädgårdh and Sven Fristedt, through to modern design icons including Zandra Rhodes and Marimekko. Revealing the creative process behind successful design and providing the tools to help inspire visitors incorporate textile, colour and print in their homes.
Since the 1960s, IKEA has been a nursery for experimental artists and designers. In a bid to meet increased demand for textile design, IKEA hired Danish textile artist Bitten Højmark in 1962, and Inger Nilsson in 1965. The pair introduced new technology, including the first Swedish version of the Natural Colour System, and bold patterns, in an age when textiles mostly came in shades of grey.
Developed by physicist Tryggve Johansson at Sweden’s National Defence Research Institute, the Natural Colour System uses a scientific approach to describe and communicate colours accurately, ensuring colours can be effectively produced on different materials and products.
Inger saw the NCS as an invaluable aid in her work with colours and shades and wanted to see it being used everywhere at IKEA, travelling round the stores’ textile departments to explain how to present fabrics to consumers in a more attractive, inspiring way. This was the beginning of what has been called the golden age by textile fans – a period at IKEA marked by strong women driving developments forward.
Patterns created across a period of 60 years reflect the zeitgeist of their time and the breadth and depth of IKEA’s textile department, such as the design ‘RANDIG BANAN’ by Inez Svensson. Originally created in 1985, the stripy banana pattern was hidden away before becoming a big hit when it was reissued in 2013, as part of a temporary collection.
Ida Pettersson Preutz’s ‘ANNIKEN’ – a bright green broccoli motif on a background of wavy neon pink stripes which launched in 2014 – similarly reflects the playfulness, bold expression and bright colours which have always characterised IKEA’s creative approach.
Anna Sandberg Falk, Curator at IKEA Museum says, We’re thrilled to share this exhibition with more people by bringing it to Edinburgh’s esteemed Dovecot Studios. Magical Patterns is a joyful and nostalgic journey emphasising the strong IKEA identity, which the textiles department contributed to.
They were a bold team that truly dared to be different, and in retrospect, we can see that those risks were worth it, as several patterns have become incredibly popular. The stripy banana pattern RANDIG BANAN, for example, was initially hidden away under a table at the stores’ textile departments when it launched in the late 80s, but then it became a big hit in the 21st Century and continues to inspire designers today.
Celia Joicey, director of Dovecot Studios says, We are delighted to showcase Magical Patterns, the IKEA Museum’s first-ever touring exhibition at Dovecot. Our appreciation of art, design and textile makes this a natural collaboration, perfectly aligned with Dovecot’s tradition of creating contemporary tapestries. This exhibition highlights the important role pattern and textile play in shaping the spaces we live in.
With unprecedented access to IKEA’s archives, for the first time, the exhibition highlights the work of 10-gruppen – a collective of ten Swedish designers, founded in 1971. The collective went against the small-flowered textile design norms of the early Seventies in favour of bright colours and bold patterns, which has continued to influence designers since, and define textiles at IKEA.
In total, the exhibition comprises 180 vintage and contemporary fabrics arranged according to what the patterns represent – for example, graphic, nature, storytelling and fantasy. In addition to the works of the 10-gruppen, visitors can marvel at playful and striking designs by creatives such as Nina Jobs, Cilla Ramnek, Anna Efverlund, Lotta Kühlhorn, and Synnöve Mork, all of whom have played pivotal roles in shaping IKEA’s past and present as a beloved homeware destination.
From 18th July 2025 through to 17th January 2026, Magical Patterns will be at the internationally renowned Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, 10 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LT.
