Singapore's Effortlessly Cool Senior Citizens Model Ikea's First Merch Line

We’ll welcome any kind of positive feels this season, and Ikea’s especially good at delivering. This particular offering is brought to you by TBWASingapore, and promotes the brand’s first merchandise line.

The collection is titled Efterträda, which means “succeed” in Swedish. The campaign, titled “Style for All,” applies that hefty label to the only influencers we care about seeing right now: what TBWA calls the “glam-mas and glam-pas of Singapore.”

In classic utilitarian style, the official Ikea logo serves as Efterträda’s main design. It also sports a barcode motif featuring Ikea’s best-selling product, the Billy bookcase.

TBWASingapore recruited models in Chinatown, scouting for folks over 70 years old who “exuded effortless cool.” They were invited to style and accessorize from the Efterträda collection in their own way, kind of like when Gucci sent models a bunch of clothes and just let them film themselves doing whatever in their houses. 

Singapore-based photographers Jang and Kev produced a lookbook, inspired by street style.

The focus on adorably glam seniors reminds us of Chang Wan-ji and Hsu Sho-er, an octogenarian couple in Taiwan. They skyrocketed to Instagram fame months ago when, prompted by their grandson, they started posing in clothes abandoned at their laundry service.

The effort also speaks to Ikea’s belief that timeless style should be available to everyone. 

“When you think of the word influencer, you think of young, social media obsessed trendsetters who dictate what’s cool,” say TBWASingapore associate creative director Lauren Lim and senior art director Germaine Chen. “We thought that Singapore’s very own glam-mas and glam-pas, whose panache and personal style are a source of inspiration, were the best way to bring to life Ikea’s ethos of democratic style.”

The Efterträda collection includes T-shirts and hoodies, bath towels, water bottles and canvas totes.