H&M opens museum-style Studio collection pop-up space during Paris Fashion Week

H&M has opened a luxurious Parisian pop-up space dedicated to Studio, its premium fashion line. The Studio collection, more directional than H&M’s main range, has in the past been presented with runway shows staged during Paris Fashion Week. Now that the pandemic is over, the Swedish retailer opted to present Studio’s latest collection on February 27-29 at a temporary venue, a space curated like an artistic installation in a posh boulevard Haussmann building. The items showcased weren’t for sale, and the atmosphere was almost museum-like.

H&M commissioned design agency Ray Atelier to create La Maison, a fashion exhibition inside the four-room space at 53 boulevard Haussmann, opposite Le Printemps department store. The building was formerly home to Benetton, and was entirely renovated by BNP Paribas REIM.

Visitors walked into a huge entrance area upholstered in red velvet, where a triangular podium exhibited an array of Pillow Bags, the Studio line’s signature handbag, from a miniature version to a huge mock-up.

A selection of looks from Studio’s summer 2024 collection was exhibited in a black-curtained room, including a short python-print dress, a safari jacket, and a tight-fitting dress with asymmetric pleats reminiscent of the red rays of the setting sun.

The collection will go on sale from March 12, online and at select H&M stores, including the retailer’s Parisian flagship on nearby rue La Fayette.

A section was dedicated to the Studio collection’s archive, contained in large volumes for visitors to leaf through. On the floor, images of the current collection’s sources of inspiration were projected on a giant white volume.

The Studio collection gives H&M’s design studio, led by Ann-Sofie Johansson, “carte blanche to create more fashionable looks, priced slightly higher than the main range,” according to Emin Sassi, H&M France’s head of communication.

The venue’s last room presented the line’s accessories (handbags, shoes and jewellery characterised by a dove design) in a kaleidoscopic, mirror-filled space ideal for selfies. On February 26, H&M marked the pop-up space’s inauguration with a gala evening, inviting guests like Iris Law, Alexa Chung and Tina Kunakey.

A cool showcase for H&M, which in the meantime continues to modernise its stores. The H&M group, which also owns Cos, Monki and & Other Stories, recently appointed Daniel Ervér as CEO, replacing Helena Helmersson. The group’s revenue increased by 6% in fiscal 2023, to SEK236 billion (€20.95 billion).