Ikea takes revenge on Balenciaga with hilarious £10 towel skirt

At this point, we think Balenciaga is just messing with us. The luxury fashion label has released a towel skirt as part of its Spring 24 line - with a stifling price tag of £695.

Available to preorder in both small and medium, Balenciaga’s Towel Skirt is just that: a skirt that looks like a towel.

Made from beige terry cotton, the unisex skirt sits mid-waist and features two buttons at the waistline on the inside of the skirt, so at least you know it will stay in place.

There’s also an adjustable belt with a buckle on the inside, and a Balenciaga logo embroidered at the front.

The reveal this week sparked several jokes on social media, with some X (formerly Twitter) users calling the brand a 'social experiment'.

"£695 for a towel- at this point Balenciaga is a social experiment," X user @sophh_x wrote.

While @astoldbybunny added: "Balenciaga is selling a towel wrapped around somebody’s waist as a skirt for £695. Please be f***ing for real."

Now, IKEA has revealed how to create the look for just £10 - a 96.8% price drop.

The Scandi homewares store has instead offered up its VINARN bath towel in light grey, which acts a dupe of the Balenciaga outfit - albeit without the buttons and buckles.

What’s more is the IKEA towel comes in six different shades, including blue, light beige, light pink, light yellow, and white, so you’re not limited to the colour of the towel and could even buy all six for a tenth of the price of Balenciaga’s.

It’s not the first time the fashion house has taken inspiration from IKEA. Balenciaga famously unveiled its version of IKEA’s blue FRAKTA bag in 2017, which retailed at $2,145 (£1,721), compared to IKEA’s price of 75p.

Since then, Balenciaga has also released a pair of worn and muddy-looking sneakers for $1,850 (£1,484), a $1,790 (£1,436) Trash Pouch Bag, and shoelace earrings for $250 (£200). Now with the addition of the towel skirt, we’re fairly certain we’re just being trolled.

Fashion: Read more

• The ‘old money’ look that’s back in fashion (Yahoo Life UK, 8-min read)

• No make-up, crumpled coats and girl dinner: how luxury got lazy (Evening Standard, 5-min read)

• John Lewis Black Friday deals: Best offers on tech, fashion and Christmas gifts (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)

Watch: Kim Kardashian went head-to-head with Lauren Sanchez at an auction for a Balenciaga dress