Ann-Sofie
Johansson noted before this fourth H&M Studio show that the
see-now-buy-now convulsions gripping fashion this season had not gone
unnoticed in Stockholm—and might lead to changes for this collection’s
presentation. H&M’s head of design said, “I think we will change the
format, you know. I think we will in the future. It’s just a matter of
seeing how you do it.” It’s ironic—and a touch meta—when the figurehead
slow-fashion collection of one of the world’s top two fast-fashion
retailers has to react to traditional slow fashion’s reaction to fast
fashion.
Originally conceived as a platform for H&M designers to showcase their expertise outside the arena of constant retail drops, this show was also a masterfully wrangled hype generator. Shown in the former Paris commodities exchange building (made obsolete in the ’80s by computer trading), beneath gorgeous frescoes of international exchange by ocean-going sail ships, this was a perfect Insta-storm. Celebrities included Kate Mara, Ciara, Emma Roberts, Suki Waterhouse, Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor, and many others listed on the nine-names-to-a-page, thickly sheaved handout. Along with high-follower Insta-influencers, they sat on four white upholsteries in the middle of the floor, which had been specially laid with black marble-effect covering. To the uplifting incantations of a 30-ish strong choir, a famous and quite diverse (at least in terms of fashion) cast of models did their thing: Ashley Graham, Andreja Pejic, Pat Cleveland (who walks like she’s belly dancing, just amazingly), Amber Valletta, Natasha Poly, and Jourdan Dunn were just a few of them.
The clothes, you could almost posit, were secondary—although between 40 and 50 of the pieces shown here will appear in-store at H&M in September. Johansson and her team incorporated embroidered motifs and florals from Swedish folk dress and the disassembled natural camouflage of (Swedish predator) Lynx pattern on velvet hoodies, dresses, and wide pants in some of the best looks here. The three-quarter-sleeved coat—to better allow shirt-flashing—was a fun enough theme, and near the close, there were some fine inversions of the lace accented pin-striped power suit section earlier via silver metallic and bead details on blue velvet eveningwear. The addition of gaucho hats and cowboy boots in snake print leather and suede was perhaps a touch de trop, especially as the idea of H&M focusing on its Swedishness was so promising. Three nasty falls at the finale also demonstrated the inadvisability of box-fresh cowboy heels on fake marble flooring.
Originally conceived as a platform for H&M designers to showcase their expertise outside the arena of constant retail drops, this show was also a masterfully wrangled hype generator. Shown in the former Paris commodities exchange building (made obsolete in the ’80s by computer trading), beneath gorgeous frescoes of international exchange by ocean-going sail ships, this was a perfect Insta-storm. Celebrities included Kate Mara, Ciara, Emma Roberts, Suki Waterhouse, Atlanta de Cadenet Taylor, and many others listed on the nine-names-to-a-page, thickly sheaved handout. Along with high-follower Insta-influencers, they sat on four white upholsteries in the middle of the floor, which had been specially laid with black marble-effect covering. To the uplifting incantations of a 30-ish strong choir, a famous and quite diverse (at least in terms of fashion) cast of models did their thing: Ashley Graham, Andreja Pejic, Pat Cleveland (who walks like she’s belly dancing, just amazingly), Amber Valletta, Natasha Poly, and Jourdan Dunn were just a few of them.
The clothes, you could almost posit, were secondary—although between 40 and 50 of the pieces shown here will appear in-store at H&M in September. Johansson and her team incorporated embroidered motifs and florals from Swedish folk dress and the disassembled natural camouflage of (Swedish predator) Lynx pattern on velvet hoodies, dresses, and wide pants in some of the best looks here. The three-quarter-sleeved coat—to better allow shirt-flashing—was a fun enough theme, and near the close, there were some fine inversions of the lace accented pin-striped power suit section earlier via silver metallic and bead details on blue velvet eveningwear. The addition of gaucho hats and cowboy boots in snake print leather and suede was perhaps a touch de trop, especially as the idea of H&M focusing on its Swedishness was so promising. Three nasty falls at the finale also demonstrated the inadvisability of box-fresh cowboy heels on fake marble flooring.
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