Why are brands suddenly all about wicker on social media?
It’s never been a better time to be in the wicker business. Brands are leaning into the woven art form as a forthcoming movie has people asking “What if a basket could be a sexy man?” The film, Wicker, which dropped its first trailer in early August, stars Olivia Colman as a lonely fisherwoman who commissions a husband to be made out of wicker. That husband is Alexander Skarsgård, who, despite…
Brands are currently capitalizing on the rising popularity of wicker furniture and characters in a new movie called "Wicker." The film, which released its first trailer in early August, features a lonely fisherwoman who commissions a wicker husband for herself. The man, played by Alexander Skarsgård, develops a passionate relationship with his human wife. This unique take on the art-house romance has garnered attention online, with some dubbing it "50 shades of hay."
Rachel Karten, author of the popular newsletter Link in Bio, sees this viral momentum around the film as a "big opportunity" for brands selling wicker furniture. Companies like Ikea have jumped on the trend, posting social media content featuring wicker chairs and benches with clever captions. Ikea's US Instagram page posted a photo of a wicker chair with the phrase "husband material" and captioned it, "We've got plenty of husband material.
Be honest…how many times did you watch the trailer?" The Australian Ikea page also posted a similar image.
Even brands not directly related to wicker are riding the wave of popularity. Sephora posted a double entendre on its Instagram, saying, "We'd love to sit on that." Even the New York Public Library got in on the joke, posting a carousel of books about basket weaving with the caption, "For Readers Suddenly Interested in Baskets (For absolutely no reason at all)."
While brand capitalization on social media trends doesn't always resonate, users on social media seem to be welcoming the wicker content. Comments on the NYPL's Instagram post and Ikea's post reflect appreciation for the creative content. It remains to be seen if the wicker trend will continue through the film's limited release on October 23, and its wider release on October 30.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
