Ikea launches first UK textile exhibition showcasing 60 years of designs in Edinburgh

Ikea is set to open its first UK textile exhibition in Edinburgh.

The Magical Patterns exhibition, which features 60 years of Swedish textile designs, has never been shown outside of Sweden.

It will debut at Dovecot Studios on July 18 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh Art Festival, and run until January 17, 2026.

With 180 designs on display, the exhibition highlights the many artists and designers who have been involved with Ikea’s iconic pattern work over the years.

It features heritage Swedish designers such as Inez Svensson, Göta Trädgårdh, and Sven Fristedt, as well as modern design icons such as Zandra Rhodes and Marimekko.

The display marks the first time the exhibition has been shown outside of Sweden, where it was organised by the Ikea Museum in Älmhult.

Celia Joicey, director of Dovecot Studios, said the studio was “delighted” to showcase the exhibition.

“Textiles are at the core of what we believe is important. This exhibition looks at the impact of more democratically available printed textiles from the 1960s to the present day,” she told STV News.

“Many retailers were producing and selling textiles. But Ikea in particular tells a very particular story about Scandinavian design and its impact with colour and print.”

Speaking on the connection Ikea has to Scots, Ms Joicey added: “I think it’s a huge brand and there were moments in post-war history when people’s home ownership increased.

“There’s a moment now where there’s lots of house building, but just after the Second World War, 1.2 million homes were built in the UK, and people need to furnish those homes during Covid,” she said.

“People were looking at their spaces for much longer, and that opportunity to take fabric and to improve your spaces, to change your spaces, to put your own personal mark, I think, is really inspiring.”

Ida Pettersson Preutz, a textile artist featured in the exhibition, has been designing for Ikea for a decade and shared excitement over seeing her designs in people’s homes all over the world.

“The first pattern that I ever did was this broccoli pattern, so it’s really nice to see it. I love making patterns and especially patterns with a twinkle in the eye. So, making these designs for Ikea has been wonderful over the years.

“It’s amazing that something can grow so big from something that I just drew in my home,” she told STV News.

Anna Sandberg Falk, curator at the Ikea Museum, said: “Magical Patterns is a joyful and nostalgic journey that emphasises 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.”