Los Angeles, April 2025. Ahead of Coachella, an annual music festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, H&M is launching its own mega custom concert. New York, May 2025. At the Madison Avenue boutique, Valentino presents “L’Atelier Sonore,” an installation somewhere between sound and design. Two different projects, but with music at the centre
by Domenico Casoria
In recent years, fashion has shifted its focus from a product-centric approach to one centred on the experience. It is precisely in this direction that the projects of H&M and Valentino go, which, to varying degrees, aim to expand their target customer base. With pre-Coachella, the Swedish fast fashion giant attempted to reinvigorate its relationship with music, aware that the American festival has long been an incubator of trends and new ways of thinking about clothing. Maison Valentino, on the other hand, with its “musical” atelier, aims to reaffirm the vision of creative director Alessandro Michele, who has consistently pursued a plural narrative that blurs the boundaries between fashion and other worlds.
H&M’s smart move
“Music is more fashionable than fashion itself. Previously, there were records and albums. Today, everything is based on playlists. Genres are mixed, and the creative process has changed. Young musicians are taking old songs, remixing them, and putting their own twist on them. And fashion works the same way, in a mix of second-hand, fast fashion, maybe a touch of luxury. The consumer is eclectic; he creates his own style,” Jörgen Andersson, global creative director of H&M, tells MF Fashion.
And it is immediately clear that the mega concert staged in April represents an opportunity to solidify that relationship with the consumer. This wasn’t the first time the giant had jumped on music. Collaborations have been wasted in the past, from Madonna to Kylie Minogue to Beyoncé. Not to mention those with designers of the calibre of Donatella Versace or Karl Lagerfeld. But this time, H&M went big. A noteworthy budget. Artists of the highest calibre and on the wave of popularity. Doechii, but also singer-songwriter Robyn and DJ Jamie XX. A replicable format around the world. Additionally, it serves as a giant showcase to launch the new collection.
Valentino’s music lab
On the opposite side of the U.S. coast, meanwhile, Maison Valentino inaugurated a music lab that laps up the product but aims to be more. Curated in collaboration with Italian cultural collective Terraforma, the space on the mezzanine floor of the New York boutique is designed to provide a serene listening experience, accompanied by a customised playlist supported by custom-designed acoustics. Designed in synergy with architect Francesco Lupia, “L’Atelier Sonore” takes shape around three elements with a sculptural character that intertwines in a silent and refined dialogue: a custom-built sound system to encourage a cosy and personal listening experience, a handcrafted console that recalls classic cabinet-making techniques, and modular velvet seating designed to welcome and relax.
These elements integrate with balance, resulting in a coherent and poetic architectural composition. Inspired by listening bars, the sensory experiment was created as a space dedicated to conscious listening, a sonic refuge suspended between past and present. Sound, conceived by Giorgio Di Salvo, has the appearance of a pencil capable of drawing space. When there are no live performances, it is a musical selection curated by Terraforma, which, until the end of August, will keep the atmosphere alive, acting as a narrative background accompanying each moment. Two different projects, but one common denominator: music that becomes a vehicle for the search for “other spaces” in which to accompany the client.
Valentino and H&M Photos
Read also:
- Fashion foundations or fashion of foundations? The Prada case
- And then the brands discovered how cool it is to read
- What I buy, why I buy, how I buy: Fashion is Psychology