Earlier this month, Quartz was the first to report that the HBO series “Game of Thrones” was using Ikea rugs as costumes for the Night’s Watch, soldiers tasked with defending the show’s fictional kingdoms from zombie armies and other threats.
Ikea has responded by issuing official instructions on its Norwegian Facebook page for repurposing its Ludde sheepskin rug into a watchman-worthy cape. (Game of Thrones dyes and distresses theirs.)
The advertising agency SMFB created the post for Ikea.
“When we saw the articles about how the costume designers at Game of Thrones had rethought and altered the beloved Ludde and Skold rugs, we immediately thought how in line that actually was with IKEA’s own way of thinking,” SMFB’s Pia Ølstad told the design magazine Dezeen. “After all, IKEA is all about creating a better everyday life for the many people—even if the Night’s Watch aren’t who they usually cater to.”
The show’s costumer Michele Clapton shared the detail about sourcing materials from Ikea in a 2016 talk at the Getty Museum. While Ikea endorses playing dress-up with its products, it urges costumers to do so responsibly.
“We love that our customers can take everyday IKEA items and repurpose them with a different function or style,” Ikea spokeswoman Mona Liss told Quartz. “And while we celebrate innovation, we also want to make sure that if our products are altered—safety is never compromised.”