This season, H&M is giving us a style mantra to meditate on. Curious, colorful, courageous: H&M Studio’s S/S20 collection is made for a modern and free spirit whose style is as eclectic as her travels, explorations, and discoveries.
It was a research trip that sparked the design aesthetic for the collection. Inspired by the lunar landscape and laid-back surf culture of the Swedish island of Gotland, a carefree vibe and electric color palette of muted and bright contrasts dominates the collection.
It’s 2020, and we’re totally feeling the entire ‘everything-goes’ vibe, from our politics to our wardrobes. It’s that disheveled, yet put together look that just looks seamless yet so well thought-out. It’s effortless, and you’ll find the perfect elements for your new season outfits in the H&M S/S20 collection. You can pair your chunky knits with sporty swimsuits, voluminous wear-anywhere dresses with platforms, and raw-edged tailoring with futuristic Lurex layers.
“The collection muse is a forward-looking free spirit – someone who surfs, climbs, explores and who wants to experience new things. The collection is both raw and refined: natural fabrics with raw edges are mixed with refined elements, such as shiny metallics and futuristic accessories. There’s a freedom in the way the collection can be worn, too: we want our customers to feel that anything goes,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor at H&M.
KEY PIECES
Tactile layers and psychedelic color hits create a new insouciant mood. Key pieces include an airy electric pink floor-sweeping dress; a limestone-hued, strong-shouldered cropped jacket with raw-edged hems and matching wide-legged trousers; a striped pair of crisp, cream cotton jeans; a thick-weave crochet cardigan in pink, cream and beige stripes; and chunky cream platform ankle boots.
FABRICS
Natural viscose/linen mixes give tailoring a louche ease; twill-jersey blends lend leggings and tailoring an athletic edge; organic cotton offers a selection of blouses and denim pieces a carefree, capacious quality; and recycled polyester adds a weightlessness to several oversized dresses.
“A research trip to the Swedish island of Gotland, where the landscape resembles the lunar surface, gave us ideas for textures and color palettes. The hand-worked prints were inspired by the island’s rock formations, known as rauks, which have been weathered into sculptural shapes. I wanted to make the prints feel psychedelic, so we introduced an electric color palette,” says Moa Bartling, H&M’s Print Designer.
ACCESSORIES
Statement-making platform boots meet elegant heeled thong-strap sandals, futuristic sunglasses and mirrored full moon-shaped earrings in an accessories collection that introduces a punk edge to the collection’s airy volumes. Also, key is the pale lavender-hued bag, a grab-and-go essential in a casual scrunchy shape.
“Photographing the collection in natural sunlight and in a secluded beach location was a beautiful reminder of how humans are connected to Mother Nature. The wind and the waves had such a palpable energy that squared with the freedom of the surf aesthetic. The collection is fun and sporty, so I wanted to mix a flirtatious aesthetic with a boyish vibe to show off the versatility of the clothes,” says the stylist Ludivine Poiblanc.
We chatted with Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor at H&M, to learn more about the collection:
Who is the H&M S/S20 Studio woman?
The Studio collection is H&M’s most fashion-forward collection, so the H&M Studio woman is always someone with a keen interest in fashion and personal style. For S/S20, the dedicated design team that works on this collection was envisioning a free spirit, someone who is curious, courageous, determined. She is [open] to experiencing new things and exploring new places.
Can you tell us about specific elements from this collection that make you feel most excited about S/S20?
What stands out to me about this collection is that it is both raw and refined: it captures the raw appeal of nature, with rough trims and natural linens, loose-weave knits and airy dresses, combined with the refined nature of shiny Lurex pieces, metallics, and more futuristic finishes. I love that mix – it’s not prescriptive, so we hope customers will find something they love and wear it in their own unique way.
How does the location of the Swedish island of Gotland serve as inspiration for the collection?
We were really energized by this feeling of freedom. The design team had watched Free Solo, the documentary about the rock climber scaling El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, and found it so inspiring. Then we were thinking about surf culture, less from a literal fashion perspective, more about the ease and the fun. The team went on a research trip to Gotland, a place of outstanding natural beauty in Sweden, where the limestone has been weathered into formations called “rauks”. Much of the island looks almost like a lunar landscape. We had fun with some prints inspired by photographs we took on the research trip, and then combined those with the ease of the surfer girl, lots of airy volumes but also some super cool tailoring.
Can you tell us more about the key color palettes to look out for in the H&M S/S Studio collection?
As I mentioned, there is what I call a mix of raw and refined. So, there are natural stone colors, along with beige, brown, and black, contrasted with some psychedelic hues: hot pink, tangerine, flashes of neon. There’s really something for everyone.
What are some of your favorite pieces from the collection? How would you style them?
My favorite pieces are the tailoring items. I love the raw-edged linen suit in the stony beige, which I’d wear with mules and a T-shirt. I also love the coordinating satin top and trousers, in hot pink – I’d wear them with flat sandals in the day, and dress them up with the platform boots for the evening.
The H&M Studio S/S20 collection will be available at H&M in 1st Avenue-The Avenues and Grand Avenue-The Avenues as well as on kw.hm.com from February 20.
