For anyone who says London Fashion Week is dead, well, they clearly weren't at the H&M show on Thursday night. H&M’s A/W25 show, described as "part runway, part concert, part living magazine" certainly felt like all of those things, as well as an It girl convention, with a front row stacked with celebs who would made great fodder for Charlie XCX's next music video. Emily Ratajkowski, Paloma Elsesser, Gabbriette, and Richie Shazam sat directly in front of me, chatting, hugging and snapping selfies (Gabbriette on her digital camera, vape in hand, obviously), while Romeo Beckham, Iris Law, Amelia Grey, Alex Consani and Paloma Elsessar marched down the runway, the latter three cheered on by their friends in the front row.
An hour before the cameras flashes went off on the front row (and captured the my leg in the corner of the photo shared around the Internet), I stole a quiet moment with Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s head designer and creative designer, who has been shaping the house’s Studio line since 2012.
Johansson was thinking in concrete and orchids. “We went to São Paulo,” she explained, referencing the inspiration for this season’s Studio collection. “It was the contrast that hooked us—the brutalist architecture, all that concrete, mixed with tropical greenery. That tension between hard and soft, raw and organic, is what you see in the clothes.
Madison Voelkel/BFA
Madison Voelkel/BFA
On the runway, that duality was everywhere: gray, sharply tailored suits with seams and inserts exposed, lingerie-like slips layered under sculptural jackets, fluffy shearling coats over skin-tight leggings. “There’s always effortlessness in Studio,” Johansson says. “It’s feminine, but with a cool edge. We keep the raw edges visible—seams on the outside, linings that aren’t hidden. It’s all about the mix.”
The tailoring was a standout: one suit with a nipped waist and subtle draping for femininity; another with clean, almost militaristic lines and a button-to-the-throat silhouette. And the boots—Johansson smiled when describing them: “They’re over-the-knee sack boots. You can scrunch them down, tie them with straps, or wear them high. They have presence.”
Having witnessed them in real life, worn by Alex Consani, Amelia Grey and more as they marched down the runway, I can confidently say they do, indeed, have presence, and it's a presence I need in my fall wardrobe immediately.
Madison Voelkel/BFA
Madison Voelkel/BFA
Madison Voelkel/BFA
Despite the harsh lines and stark shapes associated with brutalism, Johansson says that thing that makes H&M uniquely H&M is the "twinkle in the eye." “It should feel inviting,” she says. “Human. Clothes that make you look good, but also feel good. That’s always the goal.”
As the final model walked offstage and Lola Young hit her last note in "Messy," it was clear: the Strand was the only place worth being on a rainy autumn night in London, if only to soak in a little bit of the It-girl afterglow.
