KOMPLEMENT Shoe shelf, white, 50x35 cm

It just takes a flick through a photo album to see that some of the clothes we used to love might make us wonder 'what was I thinking?' today. And as the way we dress has changed over the years, so too has our approach to making storage at IKEA. That's why we've designed PAX/KOMPLEMENT clothes and shoes storage to adapt to how you would like to store your things, rather than trying to fit your clothes and accessories into an unsuitable space. An idea that's shaped its whole development.

“Most people dream of having an organised wardrobe where they can see all their clothes and accessories. But that's where the similarities end", says Betina Tviis Larsson who developed the PAX/KOMPLEMENT system. Traditional storage often shoehorns you into doing things a set way, whether its folding t-shirts or sorting out a sock drawer – something Betina wanted PAX/KOMPLEMENT to step away from. "We didn't want to say there's a right way or wrong way to keep your clothes. If you want to hang your jeans by their belt loops we want you to be able to do it”, Betina says.

To get the design process off on the right foot, the design team focused on what kinds of storage do different people need. "We started by speaking to a lot different people in the team and around IKEA", Betina explains. "To try and determine different personalities and different needs. And what we ending up with was this big inventory of preferences and types of things that needed to be stored". By designing around personalities, the team started to develop types of storage that would fit collectors and families just as easily as minimalists and people with very little space. "The whole idea that defined the project became, don't change your personality, change your wardrobe instead", Betina says.

Bringing this research together, the result is a series of interior organisers that can be adapted for particular uses, from multipurpose drawers and hangers, to specific features for everything from shoes, to trousers, to jewellery. The idea is that each organiser can be mixed or repeated as you choose, so if you want to store your whole sneaker collection inside, or have everything hanging, you can. "I really like to use space in a good way", Betina says. "With this system you can tailor your one wardrobe frame into hundreds of combinations." So whether you're a 'super organiser' or a 'piler' type of clothes person we hope you'll be able to match your storage to suit your style.