H&M’s Latest Studio Collection Is Here — & It's Magical

Among global fast-fashion players, H&M has long distinguished itself via designer collaborations. Their first was a collection designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld — and it sold out in seconds. Then there was that top secret Giambattista Valli couture capsule which damn near broke the internet, and its historic collaboration with South African designer Palesa Mokubung. But the fast-fashion retailer's latest collection reminds us that their in-house designers are pretty innovative, too. Building off of H&M's spring 2019 studio collection for the person who explores nature with a touch of glam, its autumn 2019 offering aims to bring some levity to the world.

"When we designed our H&M Studio SS19 collection our muse was the adventurous, glamorous explorer," Ann-Sofie Johansson, the global brand's creative director tells Refinery29 exclusively. "We continued being inspired by strong women for the AW19 collection by having a power-dressing confident woman as our muse. You can still see some glamorous pieces in the AW19 collection, although we are focusing more on tailored, structured pieces for autumn."

The team, she says, specifically wanted to challenge idea of giving female power dressing a game-changing makeover for a new era of confident women. "We began by talking about magic, and how to find magic in the everyday, as antidote to the crazy things happening in the world at the moment," Johansson explains. "We thought about secret signs that no one else can see – you’ll find little characters hidden in the hand-drawn prints – and jewellery that feels talismanic. We wanted to help our customers feel confident and grounded in their clothes."

And because H&M has consistently tried to make their practices more sustainable in the fashion industry, all of the pieces in the autumn 2019 collection were made from organic cotton and recycled polyester. As Johansson reiterates: "At H&M, we have committed for all cotton to be sustainable sourced by 2020. For example, in 2018 sustainable materials represented 57% of the material used in our products and our goal is to reach 100% by 2030."

Now, as for what to buy, it's all about mixing and matching the creative director tells Refinery29. "There’s a spiritual, more classically feminine feeling to the airy volumes in the collection, but also a strength in the structured, more tailored pieces," says Johansson. "We feel this contrast sums up the masculine/feminine tension that we always try to reference in the H&M Studio collections."

Click ahead to see the collection.