Retail shopping has changed dramatically in recent years and H&M decided to refresh their retail fleet to keep up with changing demand - starting with a refurbishment of their Barcelona flagship store. At the same time, their ongoing efforts towards their climate pledges needed to be reflected through upcoming executions.

As one of the first areas of customer interaction, window displays were a key component of this store refresh. H&M needed new showpieces that would satisfy a number of objectives: On the most basic level, they had to draw customers in from the street. They also had to meet extremely high standards for aesthetics and elevate the garments that would be showcased alongside them. Finally, the displays had to be ecologically sound - reusable indefinitely and adaptable to any of their retail locations around the world.

Mutable Futures in its first appearance was a quartet of sculptures that featured in the windows of H&M’s Barcelona flagship store on Passeig de Gràcia.

Each sculpture is constructed from an array of triangular modules, with large modules being 600mm and small modules being 300mm. Each module is constructed from a machined aluminium frame that is capped on the front with prisms that are vacuum-metalized to a mirrored chrome finish. The larger modules also feature integrated, programmable custom LED tiles to illuminate the sculptures and garments being showcased in front of them. The rear of each module is covered with an anodised aluminium plate to elevate the sculptures from all angles.

At the centre of each sculpture there is a custom-made, transparent mannequin bust, designed to create the illusion that garments are elegantly floating in the windows - beautifully amplified through the reflective shards.

The sculptures in Barcelona were both visible from afar and had a strong presence on the busy high street. Thanks to their reflective nature, customers immediately started interacting and engaging with them - they’d stop to take photos and selfies with the sculptures, enjoying becoming part of the artwork through the reflections.

The artworks were made out of high-quality recyclable material, and engineered to be modular and scalable - extending their life beyond a single showcase.

H&M saw significant local growth in brand recognition, membership signup and sales within the flagship store after the installation of Mutable Futures as part of their store refresh. Experiential installations provided their customers with more reasons to visit and shop, helping to cement their Barcelona store as a fashion destination and set a new standard for renewable, elevated window displays for the brand.