This Fashion Show Was Part Film, Part Concert and Part Building

A fashion show used to mean people walking in a straight line while everyone pretended not to look at their phones.

That format is changing. H&M's London Fashion Week presentation for its autumn/winter 2026 collection was conceived with SHOWstudio and Nick Knight, bringing fashion, film, music, architecture and theatre into the same event. Who What Wear's report shows how far the format has moved beyond a simple runway.

Sound is part of the identity

The music is not decoration if it changes how the clothes feel. A sharp cut, a heavy bass note or a sudden silence can make a collection seem aggressive, romantic, futuristic or funny before anyone describes it.

That applies to smaller brands too. A market stall, product video or launch event can have a sound world. It might be the scrape of a tool, paper folding, a sewing machine or the quiet room before a reveal.

Make the audience feel the object

If your product is tactile, let the audio carry that tactility. If it is delicate, do not bury it under an enormous soundtrack. Give the material room to speak.

Try this: make a ten-second product clip using only the real sounds of opening, handling and using the object.