Why H&M Has Teamed Up With Another British Heritage Brand

After a successful collaboration with GP & J Baker, H&M has tapped another British print brand to inject some quintessential craftsmanship into its high-street offering: Morris & Co.

The brand dates back to 1861, when William Morris, a trained architect-turned-print designer, embarked on a mission to improve interior design while keeping its roots in artisanal production. As he rose to become a celebrated member of the Arts and Crafts Movement, he would begin to amass a vast archive of prints that designers still call upon for inspiration today. H&M is the latest in a long line of brands to have delved into the catalogue of textiles and wallpapers baring Morris's art.

“At H&M we continuously look at collaboration ideas as we strive to give our customers new and exciting experiences,” Pernilla Wohlfahrt, H&M design director, told Vogue ahead of the October 4 collection launch. “William Morris once said, ‘I do not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few’. This hit home for us and is exactly what we are all about.”

Going through the archive was “as challenging as it was wonderful,” Wohlfahrt explained of H&M’s pattern selection, which “sprung from a choice of colours and themes, such as plaids, animals and wildflowers, to make the collection as vibrant as possible, and older prints to get a sense of workmanship to shine through.” It was another Morris quote – “There is no excuse for doing anything which is not strikingly beautiful” – that drove the H&M design team to ensure that the motifs were transferred onto each piece in the comprehensive ready-to-wear capsule as accurately as possible.

For Morris & Co the collaboration was seamless, because the company's patterns have “never been so popular,” Claire Valis, creative director of the decorative arts manufacturer, asserted. “The link between fashion and furnishings grows ever stronger, because great design is great design. And, as far as Morris is concerned, there is an energy within his patterns that seems to marry so well with the youthful energy of fashion.”

The emotional link between how we shop for clothing and homeware has also grown in recent years, according to Valis. “The patterns that we are comfortable surrounding ourselves in at home have the same appeal as the clothes we like to wear,” she said. “In the UK especially, Morris's patterns are almost like a subconscious part of our design psyche – many of us grew up with his patterns without realising it.”

The Pimpernel trousers are coincidentally both Wohlfahrt and Valis’s favourite piece born out of the partnership, which took one year from conception to production. “We're conscious of our responsibility to protect the great legacy of the brand, [but] authenticity was important for H&M, and there was a great synergy between teams,” Valis added of the timeline, which felt "extremely fast" for Morris & Co. For H&M, the collaboration is the latest in its revolving door of projects and partnerships as the Swedish giant grows stronger and stronger.