Kelly Wearstler x H&M Brings the Method Dressing Moment Home
“Getting dressed is a ritual… It’s such a tone-setting moment for the day, and like so much else, it’s best when you balance intuition and feeling with some degree of practicality,” read the opening of INs and OUTs of getting dressed, an instalment of Kelly Wearstler’s newsletter Wearstlerworld, where every Wednesday the Los Angeles design superstar distills life, style, and interiors advice, published April 3. Choosing the right outfit, Wearstler continued, is a ritual “as much rooted in space as it is in wardrobe: organization, lighting, which mirror you have, even the scents you bring in to create an environment and mindset. It’s serious business.”
Her commitment to bridging the interior design and fashion universes is manifest in her forthcoming collaboration with H&M, which sees her release 29 unique homeware buys, including furniture, lighting, and artsy accessories, alongside eight Wearstler-coded ready-to-wear pieces for the Swedish apparel giant.
Landing in stores and online September 3, with the clothing drop available exclusively via the H&M site, the Kelly Wearstler x H&M collection captures her eye for architectural structure, texture, and aspirational curation, confirming what we have known all along: Wearstler dresses in the same way she dresses her captivatingly conceived spaces — boldly, unexpectedly, and with an eye to color, form, and strategic contrast. With her clothing for H&M, Wearstler offers the design-world answer to Zendaya’s ongoing method dressing moment. A joy to see for the interior obsessives among us, who will soon be able to give her iconic looks a go themselves.
Latest Videos FromLivingetc
Kelly Wearstler’s Method Dressing Moment Is Nearly Here — 3 Principles to Get Her Look Right Across Fashion and Decor
“The opportunity to challenge both my own skills and those of my studio, while creating something artisanal yet accessible, was incredibly exciting,” Wearstler said of her collaboration with H&M. “We began by questioning how objects can shape a space — creating sculptural pieces that feel expressive, tactile, and designed to endure.”
(Image credit: Sean Thomas. Design: Kelly Wearstler)
While Wearstler’s savoir-faire and allure belong only to her, some of the Kelly Wearstler x H&M buys hold clues to mastering her edgy-chic aesthetic, starting with the sheeny, black bomber leather jacket she wears, irreverently, over a matching bodysuit with lace tights in the collection campaign.
1. Find Brave Balance Through Proportion
“Kelly is a very powerful female designer. She’s always had a strong design aesthetic, and she possesses a unique, bold, and confident design language. We want to bring that vision to new audiences,” shares H&M HOME’s head of design & creative Evelina Kravaev-Söderberg.
(Image credit: Sean Thomas. Design: Kelly Wearstler)
It’s a look that, in itself, sums up her flair for proportion — her ability to craft rooms, functional designs, and, yes, outfits, where seemingly irreconcilable styles and materials feel perfectly balanced.
This is clear in the double-faced bordeaux trenchcoat she created for H&M, pairing a matte, muted exterior with a chocolatey, glossy leather finish, as it is in the wood and stained marble Solin Side Table.
Across all Kelly Wearstler x H&M designs, you’ll notice a recurring tension between sharp and soft, and that materials traditionally employed in geometrical forms — like stone and wood — take on new, more fantastical and enveloping silhouettes.
She does the same with many of the pieces of her apparel debut: a linear, wide-collar shirt, loose-fit, zipped cargo trousers, and a floaty, silken dress. These are the kind of everyday essentials one feels comfortable in but can’t leave without.
2. Swap Color With Texture
Monochromatic outfits and home accessories needn’t be boring, and the Kelly Wearstler x H&M collection is a masterclass in perfectly inspiring, single-hue collectibles.
(Image credit: Sean Thomas. Design: Kelly Wearstler)
From the Memphis-reminiscent Aurex Table Lamp and the cloud-like Poma Accent Chair to the swirly Morra Table Lamp, the Cova Candle Stick, and the Cyma Vase, a wood revival of ancient Greece’s traditional black ceramics, most of my favorite buys from the Kelly Wearstler x H&M line are surprisingly monochrome.
I say “surprisingly” as, contrary to Wearstler herself, I am a fan of vibrant palettes. But If there’s one thing that the collection does well, it’s reminding us that, sometimes, all a piece needs to stand out is feeling tactile, more than eye-catching hues and intricate patterns.
Just like her wardrobe has been curated for Wearstler to be able to style leather, linen, satin, and crochet into a single, evocative look, her H&M catalogue, too, wants people to experiment with their looks. And so you get distressed denim and white-washed cotton, a slanted velvet skirt, and crunchy cargo trousers, along with lacquered accessories, shearling, and fabric and chrome finishes in the interior department.
3. Mix Old and New, Vintage and Designer
The beauty of Kelly Wearstler’s projects lies in their time-trascendent look: they could have been completed today as 15 or even 50 years ago. That stems from her passion and knowledge of vintage design, her passion for thrifting also spilling into her wardrobe.
(Image credit: Gemma Warren. Design: Kelly Wearstler)
A lifelong fan of legendary fashion houses like Rick Owens, Maison Margiela, Schiaparelli, and Alaïa, Wearstler knows how to elevate her wardrobe through selected vintage and contemporary statement pieces that pair material quality with the sparkle required of A-listers like her.
To recreate her look, whether in fashion or at home, consider getting into how to thrift like a vintage pro. Experts recommend to start small — a single collectible or accent at a time, building a collection that grows with you over the years.
Mind you, though, there’s less than a month till the launch of the Kelly Wearstler x H&M collection. So better be oculate with your purchases — as we predict it to sold out fast.
Whilst You Wait for the Kelly Wearstler x H&M Collection to Land, Get Ahead With Your Homeware
H&M
Stainless Steel Candle Sconce
Gallery Direct
Retro Armchair
In the meantime, why not sign up to the Livingetc newsletter? Curated by our editors, it is your shortcut to the latest in all things design, travel, and lifestyle.
