NORSE CODE

It was the highlight of September; some would even say the year. Whatever you choose to make of it, we all certainly let out a cheer when H&M finally made its mark upon Orchard Road. CATALOG sat down with head designer Ann Sofie Johansson for some insight into her creative personality and the brand. TEXT BY NATASHA HONG

You oversee the design of a lot of clothes. What keeps your inspiration and creativity fresh?

Travelling, of course; meeting and seeing new people; and seeing new countries. Coming to Singapore has given me a lot of inspiration. As a designer you have to be really open-minded, keep your eyes open and be constantly interested in different things that are going on.

What is your favourite era in fashion?

You know, it always changes. It's so hard to say. I guess in a way I'm always going back to the ’50s, I suppose, because I love the Rockabilly thing. I guess we'll see a little bit of the ’50s in the Spring collection, because we're in that “grown up” fashion phase, where skirts are getting a little bit longer again.

Who would you consider to be your style icon?

It is someone who dresses in quite a quirky, eclectic way. I think that Chloe Sevingy is one who does that very well. I like that, I love her style. I think she dresses in a really fun way.

If you had to pick a Muppet as a muse, who would you choose?

Oh my God! [laughs] I think it’s the drummer, what's his name... Animal, of course! He's so wild and full of energy.

We can’t wait to see the Versace X H&M collaboration. What’s coming up next?

We’re launching an underwear collection designed by David Beckham in February. I think it’s a really good collaboration. I mean, who doesn't want to wear David Beckham's underwear [laughs]. Not his own maybe, but what he has designed. He's still a very good-looking man, I think, and he's so well known and very admired by both women and men. It's going to be exciting to see what comes out of that.

What happens in the process of a collaboration?

When we choose a designer, it's their signature style that we want. Like for Versace, we really wanted the Versace look with a lot of prints and so on. But of course, we give them some advice. They make the collection, sketch out the collection and we have a look at it. It goes back and forth a little bit, but in the end, it's their style we want to have.

H&M has launched a collection with a local Swedish blogger, Elin Kling, for the Swedish market. Is the brand planning any collaboration with Singaporean or Asian designers?

Well, I can't tell you, can I, really? [laughs] Actually we haven't looked into that, but we'll see how we can work on future country-specific collaborations. Currently we have the Versace collection; then it's David Beckham's. We'll focus on them first; then we'll see about collaborating on a more local level.

Stockholm is a rising fashion capital. Which designers should we be on the look out for?

The Stockholm scene for fashion is quite big. There are a lot of good companies and a lot of them started at H&M then moved on to start their own labels. For example, the people from Whyred and Hope.

We hear you are a fashion addict; tell us about your habit!

I guess I am addicted to fashion. I buy quite a lot of vintage, I like vintage things. I buy whatever I think is interesting, For example it might be shoes, or a bag, or big rings. One of my last buys was a white metallic woven top, from H&M’s Autumn collection, and I really love that piece! I also have a thing for statement jewellery.

If I was not in H&M, I would be...

An artist, or more specifically, a painter. I would paint abstract, contemporary art with lot of colours.


Photo courtesy of H&M Singapore.
FYI The Versace collection will hit the H&M store on November 17!