Space Age

The Space Age at IKEA begins in 1968, when the catalogue carries TROFÉ: a moulded polyurethane chair in orange, yellow and white that looks like an astronaut’s suit turned upside down. It is the first moment the company breaks from wood and plywood and starts to sell the future. The influence was international: Joe Colombo in Italy, Verner Panton in Denmark, Eero Aarnio in Finland had shown that plastic could be furniture. IKEA added a price tag that a Swedish intern could afford.

1968-1974 is the golden window for this style: TROFÉ, IMPALA, JIMMY, the first polystyrene MILA bodies, spherical Plexiglas lamps. The aesthetic is unambiguous: no sharp edges, primary colours pushed to saturation, forms borrowed from helmets, helicopters and Hanna-Barbera animation. These objects are optimistic in a way IKEA never quite recovered. They believed tomorrow would be space-shaped.

The 1973 oil crisis ended the Space Age at IKEA almost overnight. Polypropylene and polyurethane prices spiked, margins evaporated, and the next collections retreated to wood. The survivors of this era, chiefly TROFÉ and IMPALA, are now some of the most sought-after IKEA pieces on the vintage market, partly because so few have made it through: 1970s plastic cracks, yellows and crumbles. The most futuristic furniture the company ever made turned out to be the least durable.