H&M Makes London Fashion Week Return Amid Brand Revamp
The Swedish label’s first runway show in seven years was an energetic effort to showcase its fashion cred, as it works to carve out a distinct position in a crowded market.
Alex Consani walking H&Mx180:The London Issue runway, wearing H&M Studio's Autumn/Winter '25 collection. (Isidore Montag)
On Thursday evening, H&M returned to London Fashion Week with a buzzy outdoor runway presentation at the city’s 180 Strand venue.
The brand’s first catwalk in seven years featured a performance by Brit pop star du jour Lola Young, who also strutted the runway in a black leather bomber jacket, midi skirt and knee high boots. Top models including Alex Consani, Mona Tougaard and Paloma Elsesser walked the show, as did Lila Moss, Iris Law and Romeo Beckham. The event counted Perfect Magazine founder Katie Grand as a creative consultant, with the looks styled by Jacob K.
The show was a fun, effervescent, high-octane moment on the first night of a London Fashion Week that’s working to reclaim its relevance. It was an equally high-stakes moment for H&M, marking the brand’s latest effort to deliver on a vaunted creative turnaround critical to its future growth strategy.
“With this runway we’re bringing the focus back to fashion again,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, head designer and creative advisor at H&M. “In the last couple of years we really put focus on our DNA… because ultimately the product is what we are competing with.”
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Squeezed between ultra-fast-fashion players like Shein on the one hand, and more premium offerings from the likes of Zara on the other, H&M has struggled to carve out a clear niche.
His strategy to boost performance has included prosaic elements, like upgrading the H&M shopping experience and reinforcing the brand’s competitiveness on value with broader product offerings. But a major part of the game plan has simply focused on making H&M cool again and revamping its fashion cred.
The strategy started to roll out in earnest last fall, with a slew of dynamic marketing campaigns featuring elevated offerings under the oversight of chief creative officer Jörgen Andersson, with Johansson leading design.
But activations, including a Charli XCX concert in London, hot on the heels of Brat-mania last September, and pop-ups in cities like LA and Stockholm, haven’t landed in the same way viral marketing moments from competitors like American Eagle Outfitters and Gap have done in recent months.
H&M's year-on-year growth per quarter from 2023 to present. (BoF )
Overall, the brand’s sales have remained sluggish in the year since the new creative strategy launched. Revenue fell 5 percent in the second quarter, dragged down in part by currency effects.
H&M is “in an intense learning period of finding the way to create heat around the brand again,” Ervér told analysts on a June call discussing the company’s first-half earnings. “It’s a long-term journey to build that back before we will see substantial financial results.”
While sales remained under pressure, improvements to profitability have helped buoy investor response to the results. Getting the right products to the right markets at the right time will be crucial to the brand’s performance going forward.
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“The most important thing is still the quality of products we offer,” said Johansson. “Then you can have as many marketing stories and viral moments as you want.”
In that context, this week’s London Fashion Week runway outing was an important moment for the brand.
Split over three ‘acts,’ each designed to present a different collection, the runway was punctuated with elevated, oversized blazers and coats, tasselled dresses, boho-chic corporate styles, bold checkered patterns and an abundance of British-punk era inspired leather looks and accessories contrasted with lace pieces. Workers from the show crew and designers from the brand’s atelier also paraded alongside top models and celebrities, according to Johansson.
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H&Mx180:The London Issue Runway Show Spring/Summer 2026 look 1. (Courtesy of H&M)
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The mix reflected the brand’s “everyman” sales pitch, alongside its need to elevate products.
“We want to find a way where we can show and talk about inspirational fashion and what inspires us, but also invite everyone to dress their personality the way they want to express themselves,” said Ervér, on the show’s sidelines.
Editor's note: This story was updated on Sept. 20, 2025 to clarify that Katie Grand was creative consultant for H&M's London Fashion week event. It was updated on Sept. 19, 2025, to correct the titles of Ann-Sofie Johansson and Jörgen Andersson.
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