SARTORIAL SAFARI
The new H&M Studio collection captures a feeling of exotic escapism – with a French touch from stylist Geraldine Saglio.
The way cool girls are dressing now is to combine a statement piece with something very low-key, and it’s that relaxed decadence that fuels this H&M Studio collection,” says Geraldine Saglio, the French stylist and fashion editor-at-large of Vogue Paris who worked as creative advisor and stylist on the latest range. Alongside the H&M design team, Geraldine – also the long-time stylist for fellow French icon Isabel Marant – has developed pieces with a sense of effortlessness and freespirited glamour. Think of a globe-trotting nomad (embodied below by campaign model Anna Ewers), with utilitarian safari touches, a desert-inspired palette and a striking rainbow animal print drawing on Utah’s potash mineral evaporation ponds.
Here, Geraldine shares her take on the range and a few of her favourite things.
How did you feel when H&M Studio approached you to style this collection?
Working with the H&M Studio team has been such a satisfying project. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so enthused by a concept for a campaign. I love being so involved in the collections, advising on colours, fabrics and accessories. The mix of high glamour and more utilitarian pieces feels very ‘me’; I like to dress in this way and I hope other women will too.
What was your starting point when thinking about how to bring ‘the glam explorer’ to life?
I really wanted to capture the mix of high glamour and nature in its wildest form and was chiefly inspired by the famous 1975 French movie
Le Sauvage, with Catherine Deneuve as a runaway bride on a tropical island. I also had in mind a fashion shoot
I’d recently worked on themed around a more military-infused, safari-style explorer; photographed by Lachlan Bailey and modelled by Carolyn Murphy, it was called ‘Welcome To The
Jungle’ and photographed in Guadeloupe. Another reference was a very famous fashion story modelled by Veruschka, shot by Franco Rubartelli in 1968 for Vogue in the wilds of Brazil – she looks very glamorous. And I always love looking at paintings by the surrealist Max Ernst. His brilliant landscapes of Arizona are infused with beautiful colours, so I had those in the back of my mind, too.
How would you describe your personal style and do you have a style icon?
When it comes to personal style, I’ve always liked simplicity. I’d describe my look as one that prioritises casual, effortless chic over everything else. I love having all those classic pieces in my wardrobe as well as good-quality, well-cut basics, and then I’ll style them with some of-the-moment shoes or accessories that have more of a fashionled spin. I have several style icons but I always come back to Jane Birkin and Lauren Hutton – the greats. They always look like they didn’t really try very hard and still ended up looking chic and arresting. That insouciance is what I’m trying to capture.
Where do you like to travel for inspiration?
I love travelling, and for me, New York and LA are the best cities. Vintage shopping is one of my favourite things to do, and I always discover such brilliant pieces when I’m in the States. In terms of more far-flung destinations, I love Marrakech and Tulum – both are so exotic and inspiring to me. In Marrakech, I once found a beautiful carpet that we brought home and made a fashion piece out of for one of my shoots. And in Tulum, I have a much-loved tiny store where I always stock up on exquisite fabrics that I like to use in my work. I can’t tell you what it’s called because I don’t want everyone to know about it!
THE H&M STUDIO COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT H&M COMMERCIAL BAY FROM MARCH 21.