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What the FRAKTA? Balenciaga Is Trolling Us With this $2,000 IKEA Bag

Tara Bellucci
Tara BellucciNews and Culture Director
Tara is Apartment Therapy's News & Culture Director. When not scrolling through Instagram double-tapping pet pics and astrology memes, you'll find her thrift shopping around Boston, kayaking on the Charles, and trying not to buy more plants.
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updated Apr 30, 2019
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(Image credit: Barneys)

I love me a FRAKTA bag, I truly do. But one thing nobody needs is a leather version with a $2K price tag. Yet, here we are, thanks to Balenciaga.

Let’s compare the two, shall we?

The IKEA FRAKTA and Balenciaga Arena XL Shopper Tote are roughly the same size and shape, come in a similar blue color, and both have short and long straps. Though while the OG is made of polypropylene that’s easy to rinse down after carting your recycling to the curb and pretty great for taking to the beach or shlepping stuff during a move, the upscale version is made of wrinkled, glazed leather that you wouldn’t do any of those things with. It’s also lined, has a zip top, interior zip pocket and key ring, and is made in Italy. Oh, and it’s also $2,144 more expensive.

Honestly, I can’t even be that surprised. Since the French fashion house tapped Vetements head designer Demna Gvasalia for artistic director in 2015, Balenciaga has taken a turn for the weird, sending dirty looking chunky ’90s sneakers down the runway, and even trying to pass off the bag your duvet comes in as a purse (and for $3,670, no less).

This isn’t the first time people have taken liberties with the iconic FRAKTA: Copenhagen studio Herman Cph recreated the bag with upholstery scraps (and charged $125 for it, which seems actually sort of reasonable in comparison), and IKEA themselves have been tapping brands to put their twist on the staple, including Danish brand HAY (coming later this year) and French retailer Colette (available now in Colette stores and coming to IKEA early next year).

With all these FRAKTA facsimiles out there, I want to take it to a vote. Which version of the bag do you like best? Upvote your fave below:

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