In the summer of 2024, someone at H&M made a very good booking. Charli xcx had been secured to perform at the Copper Box Arena just before made her one of the most famous women on the planet. That evening established a format – part catwalk, part gig, part installation – that has since become a highlight of the London Fashion Week schedule. The clothes are good, and instantly available to shop, but there is also the pleasure of watching a brand with money to spend. Take last season, when H&M commandeered the courtyard of 180 Studios and Piergiorgio Del Moro assembled a cast that included Romeo Beckham, Alex Consani, Paloma Elsesser and Angelina Kendall. Lola Young sang. Honey Dijon DJ-ed. EmRata watched from the bleachers. Rare is it in London to encounter something so Paris-sized.
This evening’s iteration, then, had much to live up to. “That show was such a success, really genre blurring,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, head of womenswear at the Swedish retailer. “We wanted to build on that, and to continue pushing boundaries.” And so she gave Nick Knight – the experimental British photographer known for his pioneering use of technology, who recently announced he was building his own AI model – a 40-metre-long catwalk at Kensington Olympia to play with. A bold swing at a time of heightened anxiety around AI, but Johansson is confident the experience will leave us feeling more human. “Nick and his team at SHOWstudio have thought a lot about the way we live with technology today,” she says. “The fact is that our lives sway between physical and digital. Together we are offering an emotional experience; it is about rethinking what a runway show can be.”
Among those taking it all in was Cruz Beckham, who has been testing new territory himself. The musician and his band, the Breakers, released their debut EP, , in August, before playing to a packed-out audience at Reading Festival. “It was unbelievable,” he says. “I’ve had dreams of playing to crowds like that. Not just quantity but their energy. I can’t wait to get out there again.” And while he has been supporting mum Victoria from the front row for years, this evening marked his first solo outing at London Fashion Week, away from the Beckham brood. “My earliest memories of fashion week are obviously watching my mum’s shows and seeing her prepare for those,” he says. “But I also remember seeing these unbelievably iconic photos of some of my idols at fashion shows during the height of their careers. Jagger, Bowie. It was always exciting and inspiring to see that side of their artistry.”
There was plenty here to hold his attention. Again the casting was blockbuster – Alex, Paloma and Lila, plus two mother-daughter duos, Kristen and Lily McMenamy, and Karen Elson and Scarlett White. The show unfolded in three chapters, encompassing H&M’s premium Studio and men’s Atelier lines alongside its mainline collections, against an evolving backdrop of light, movement and sound. Longtime collaborator Labrinth took charge of the latter. The opening womenswear edit drew on Victorian and Edwardian dress, with ruffled, parchment-hued blouses, tightly cropped Napoleonic jackets and corseted minis with vampiric necklines, all of which played out against a cloud-dappled backdrop and operatic violins. Then the mood changed at considerable speed. The second and third chapters moved from sharp city dressing to the more eccentric pleasures of a collector’s wardrobe – clothes that look as though they have been picked up over several decades and continents – in Canadian tuxedos, multi-belted with glimmering gold hardware.
Johansson’s favourite edit, though, was the second to be shown: Studio, where heavy wool met delicate lace, and precise construction gave way to deliberately unfinished edges, shown off beneath handheld lamps in total darkness. “The tension makes the collection feel really alive,” she says. “It’s all about breaking open tailoring: exploding and reworking the classic silhouettes.” The menswear pivoted on the same “twisted classics” logic. Screen-printed flannel shirts and leather waistcoats that felt well-suited to Beckham’s indie-inflected sensibilities. “Music and fashion go hand in hand, and as I work on myself as an artist, I try to make sure that includes all aspects. Fashion, in a way, is just another vessel of expression and identity,” says Beckham, adding that Victoria has been behind many of his on-stage looks, which draw on the vintage styles of the guitar bands that influence his sound. “[My parents] have also always encouraged me to find myself – and I think they’re learning to appreciate the ’70s style a little more now!”
An explosive start to London Fashion Week, then, with thousands watching the livestream around the world. “We love London!” Johansson says. “H&M has a really special relationship with the city and a history of collaborating with acclaimed London-based creative talent.” She points to the launch of the Glenn Martens collaboration and that Charli xcx gig as evidence of a growing attachment. “We are keen to build on that legacy, keep pushing boundaries, surprising people, and partnering with innovators and legends.” Who’s to say Beckham won’t be headlining a future edition? “I’ve been writing more than ever and being out there, meeting supporters, has given me new insight into what the next era should be. I’ll always be on the road, but I will be taking some time to get back in the studio and be in full album mode,” he says. “That EP was just a taste.”