ANGELICA GRIMBORG
H&M STUDIO CONCEPT DESIGNER
What do you enjoy the most about designing the H&M Studio collections?
It’s very satisfying to see ideas that you have talked about for months take shape in a collection, and then finally to see customers wearing the designs. I always love walking past a customer who is wearing one of the H&M Studio pieces and seeing how she’s interpreted it in her own way.
Where did you get your inspiration for the H&M Studio AW19 collection?
The design team began this season talking about magic – particularly the idea of finding magic in the mundane. We were thinking about urban locations – imagining a magical sorceress in a modern city. That initial idea led to the contrasts between hard-wearing and timeless clothes with strong, tailored shapes and softer, more spiritual elements and talismanic jewellery.
Who is this magical modern sorceress?
We were thinking less about witchcraft and more about spirituality. It’s about wisdom – rediscovering ancient wisdom that we perhaps have forgotten in our busy lives, or decided to forget. This woman channels that positive energy and finds magic in the everyday. She’s strong-willed and independent, looking for clothes that make her feel secure and grounded. She wears a lingerie-style slip dress under a strong-shouldered, black overcoat; a sequined top with thigh-high stompy boots and a down jacket.
What was the intention behind mixing masculine and feminine silhouettes for AW19?
H&M Studio refers to the clash between masculine and feminine shapes, season after season. We know that our customer likes to mix things up – she might like to wear a long, floaty, feminine, printed dress, but she’ll wear it with a strong-shouldered black blazer over the top. That contrast is always at play in the collections and continues to inspire us.
What was the creative process behind the graphic prints that feature in the collection?
Our print designer Moa Bartling hand-draws everything at the beginning of the development process, then uploads designs onto a computer. This season she was thinking about the magnetic fields around the earth, imagining magnetic currents and organic forms that bend a little. She added unexpected details, like a little cat peeking out between the lines. You have to look for those magical elements – you are rewarded when you take a closer look.
Do you have any tips for pulling off the sequins from the collection during the day?
Doing sequins for the day is really just about attitude. There are some brilliantly tailored trousers that the silver sequined top would pair well with, and I love how it’s been styled in the campaign peeking out from underneath a sweatshirt. Pair the ensemble with a pair of sneakers for the perfect, effortlessly cool daytime look.
The H&M Studio AW19 collection is available 5 September from Commercial Bay.