As part of H&M’s purpose to continuously look for ways to innovate and explore new opportunities, this spring the brand opens its first virtual showroom experience to present the latest Innovation Story collection.
The first H&M Virtual Showroom showcases selected collections in high quality visuals as both photo-realistic 3D rendered cloth materials and animated to simulate movement of the cutting-edge materials. This innovative initiative starts of as a pilot in the region Central Europe and is set to launch April 5th, opening its digital doors for invitees only.
The Virtual Showroom
Spearheaded by H&Mbeyond – H&M’s open innovation retail lab based in Berlin – the brand co-created a pioneering virtual environment, in which visitors can experience campaigns and collections in a unique way. Here the brand can build and maintain relationships with media, celebrities, influencers and stylists as an extension of the physical showrooms located all over the world.
The Virtual Showroom’s first campaign is the 5th Innovation Story collection ‘Cherish Waste’, however the virtual space has the potential of hosting events, meetings and launches to a larger audience in the future.
“The H&M virtual showroom is designed to be a space for brand activations such as fashion campaigns. They will be brought up to life in a whole new and exciting way, by integrating innovation, digitalization and sustainability. It makes me very proud how much energy, heart and soul our colleagues have put into this project across national borders and departments. We look forward to exploring its potential in the countries in Region Central Europe and beyond in the future.” Thorsten Mindermann, Regional Manager H&M Central Europe.
Visitors can walk around, talk to other guests, and meet direct contacts who are present in the virtual space. This gives the opportunity to connect at any time without physically traveling to any of the brands offline showrooms.
DEPT® supported with strategic guidance and conception of the user flow and user experience. This is the first time within the region of Central Europe, that the brand offers a virtual experience as an additional layer to one of its fashion campaigns by displaying the garments in life-size 3D for users to experience in an immersive and innovative way.
H&M‘s Virtual Showroom is built on the Journee, the premium platform that enables brands and creators to build hyper realistic metaverses, directly accessible to the world.
‘’H&M asked us to create a virtual showroom. Something that would ‘raise the bar‘. So that’s what we did – technologically and creatively. It’s time to enter a new world, and we’re just getting started.’’ Jeremy Hofmeister Mac Lynn, Creative Director, Journee.
“We’re at the dawn of a new digital era; brands now have the opportunity to build fully immersive, virtual worlds from the ground up, and extend the customer experience into a whole new reality. We’re thrilled to have partnered with H&M, pioneering technology and marketing to put them at the forefront of digital innovation.” Jan Gutkuhn, Managing Director, Dept.
Innovation Story Collection
H&M is proud to present the fifth drop in its sustainability initiative Innovation Stories with a romance-themed collection, inviting customers to fall in love with materials made from waste. Eye-catching statements and seductive styles are combined with repurposed, recycled and low impact materials, many made from recycled garments, ocean-bound plastic or other waste materials. Intended to be cherished and shared, the pieces come with labels in their linings where customers can write heartfelt messages when they want to pass it on to someone new. The Innovation Story Cherish Waste collection will be available at hm.com and in selected stores from April 21.
The collection combines bold proportions with cutting-edge materials. Several of these materials are firsts for H&M, including MIRUM®, recycled silk and AirCarbon. Headline pieces are dresses, from the pink heart-shaped evening dress to the blue puff-ball mini and the pink knitted spike dress, all made from recycled polyester.
The collection is completed by a pair of court shoes and a studded bracelet make use of MIRUM®, a plant-based leather free of plastic and made from plant fibres, vegetable oil and minerals. A convertible chain necklace and rhinestone earrings feature black hearts made from AirCarbon, a biomaterial made by natural microorganisms that use air and carbon from greenhouse gases that would otherwise go into the atmosphere.
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