Pop is the music genre most associated with Sweden, but Ann-Sofie Johansson and team were tuned into jazz when they created H&M Studio’s fall 2024 collection. Their focus was less the music than its makers, however. Legends like Thelonius Monk, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis; artists whose style was as unique as their sound. One of their key references was But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz by Geoff Dyer; in Italy, the designers discovered a repair shop for antique brass instruments, and brought home some relics, which ended up informing the sunglass and jewelry designs.
Recent H&M Studio collections and collaborations, such as with Paco Rabanne’s Julien Dossena, have emphasized holiday dressing, and this collection doesn’t disappoint in that area. Hitting the highest, brightest note is a set (or perhaps, one should day duet?) consisting of a Terri Lyne (as in Carrington) T-shirt top and long Benny (as in Goodman) skirt of sparkling silver sequins. Flirtier, and shorter is an LBD sheath with sheer inserts from neck to bust and at the edge of a hem, and a wool and Tencel dress with boning that creates an hourglass shape. Simply elegant is the Simone dress (the opening look), a long black turtleneck column of Eco-Filament Viscose and Spandex with a cut-out back.
Tailored looks in gray and black are made for work and play on a quotidian scale. There’s a borrowed from the boys feeling to an oversize, but precisely tailored, checked wool-blend jacket and miniskirt. Boxier is a pantsuit. The double-breasted Nat King blazer has horizontal pockets on either side of the lapels. A tracksuit jacket with built-up shoulders has a power look, in contrast to the luxe, softness of the Billie shearling jacket that ties with a slim cord at the waist. Print comes into play via a color-blocked dress (white polka dots on black and pink polka dots on black) with a pussy-bow neckline and flou built into the full skirt. Surely headed for the top of the charts in the collection’s Thelonius coat. A water-repellent recycled nylon with a robe silhouette, it features a blown-up photo-print of leopard spots leaning into the “cool cat” aspects of jazz style and also plays with ideas of status. Back in the day, suggested H&M Studio designer Linda Wikell on a walk-through in Stockholm, “symbols of success” might include a fancy car, a strand of pearls or a mink coat; costly luxury items. This super-sized puffer blows up the idea that to look like a million, you have to spend as much.
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