The H&M London Fashion Week show opened this season’s proceedings at Olympia London with a production titled “H&M&YOU&I”, part runway, part cinema, part live concert, with a cast and a tech stack that made the average fashion presentation look like a PowerPoint.
The Swedish retailer divided its show into three sections mapping its current offer: a fall line, Studio, and Atelier. The fall collection, which opened with Alex Consani in a cream military jacket with epaulets, a sheer blouse and low-rise trousers, was available to buy immediately. The first drop of H&M’s Autumn 26 womenswear collection, along with the H&M Atelier menswear line, went live at 9pm CET on 17 September across H&M’s online channels, according to H&M Group. The Studio range follows in select stores and online on 24 September.
Nick Knight, AI and a Curved Screen Above the Runway
Photographer and SHOWStudio founder Nick Knight created the visual backdrop for the H&M London Fashion Week show, with his imagery projected onto a curved screen above the runway. But it went further than that. According to V Magazine, the installation featured still images of Consani and actor Archie Renaux, photographed by Knight, which were animated in real time by the runway models using AI-engineered technology. So the models were not just wearing the clothes, they were, in a sense, operating the set.
Knight’s involvement lends the show a certain weight. W Magazine notes that Knight put Lady Gaga’s head on a motorcycle for the Born This Way cover, directed Björk in the “Pagan Poetry” music video, and shot the official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for her 90th birthday. He is not, in other words, someone who turns up to point a camera at a rail of jumpers.
Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s creative advisor, explained the thinking at an appointment the day after the show. “We wanted to show the bigger story of H&M womenswear,” she said. “Fashion isn’t one thing any longer. We use the word ‘cinematic.’ It feels like a cinematic season. Nick Knight jumped on that and developed a theme around that as well.”
Three Acts, a Spoken-Word Ballad and the Front Row
The show’s front row included Myha’la, Tems, Kai Schreiber and Cruz Beckham. Brazilian ballerina Ingrid Silva performed before Consani walked the opening look, and the evening was arranged with the deliberateness of a film in three acts.
One segment drew on what Johansson described as a “collector’s spirit” and a design team trip to Sicily. She referenced the “Donna” (Italian for woman) as an inspiration, visible in pencil skirts and raw-edge jackets. Models in that section shone spotlights on one another in a sequence with the feel of a 1990s runway, the clothes running to minimalist black slip dresses and narrow suiting.
For the finale, Consani returned to the stage to perform a spoken-word version of “I Want to Know What Love Is” alongside Renaux. Labrinth, who composed the show’s score, then sang his version of the song live, with the full model cast joining for a final bow. Among them: mother-daughter pairs Kristen and Lily McMenamy, and Karen Elson and Scarlett White.
Johansson, speaking about the label’s broader identity, pushed back gently on the Scandi-brand tag. “We never wanted to talk about H&M as a Scandi brand, because we are a global brand,” she said. “But whether we want it or not, there is that Scandi feeling. The pared-down look, the colour (or lack of colour) it actually reflects Scandiness because we are more practical, and we want things to be functional also. We can have something frivolous, but at the same time, we’ll wear denim or sneakers.”
The Autumn 26 womenswear collection is available to shop now via H&M’s online channels, with the Studio range to follow on 24 September.
