Spanning three floors in the heart of Seongsu (Seoul, South Korea), H&M’s new flagship store is a radical reimagining of retail as a cultural experience, realized in partnership with architecture practice SKYnoa. The project stands as a compelling intersection of fashion, art, and innovation, capturing the dynamic spirit of Seoul’s most energetic district while offering a new blueprint for global retail.
The store’s architecture is designed as an immersive journey, each level unfolding as a distinct act in the narrative of personal style and self-expression. From the street, the building’s upper levels are wrapped in translucent fabric drapes, a direct reference to Seongsu’s iconic billboards and stage curtains. This dramatic gesture, conceived by SKYnoa, transforms the facade into a symbol of anticipation and theatricality, inviting passersby to step onto the stage of their own fashion story. The curtain motif preserves the industrial memory of the original structure while dressing it with H&M’s contemporary identity. The ground floor’s frosted glass enclosure generates intrigue, offering fleeting glimpses of curated collections within, while raw concrete stools along the exterior blur the boundary between store and street. SKYnoa is no stranger to fashion retail, shaping spaces for clients such as Balenciaga, ZARA, Adidas, Rimowa and Loewe across Asia.
At the main entrance, the ampersand symbol (&) becomes a sculptural threshold, signifying H&M’s shift from YOLO (You Only Live Once) to YONO (You Only Need One), and marking a new era of thoughtful design and production. This is more than a retail gesture, it’s a showcase of a new kind of fashion experience, where quality and intention replace excess. The sculptural staircase, saturated in H&M’s signature red, acts as both intermission and spectacle, reminiscent of a theater foyer. Its enveloping color and geometry invite visitors to linger, interact, and capture moments, seamlessly integrating the act of shopping with the culture of sharing and storytelling.
Inside, SKYnoa’s spatial choreography unfolds across three acts. The first floor is conceived as a flexible stage, showcasing studio-edited collections and premium selections. Sculptural fixtures made from repurposed highway guardrails and a windshield wiper installation on mirrored surfaces reference Seongsu’s industrial heritage, while an outdoor garden with a blue car installation playfully nods to the neighborhood’s automotive past. The exposed ceiling and raw textures ground the space in a street-relevant, contemporary context, reinforcing the brand’s urban sensibility.
The second floor draws inspiration from the idea of a wardrobe. Modular wood containers divide the space into curated “closets,” each highlighting a distinct product category. This approach merges playful retail strategy with immersive visual storytelling, encouraging visitors to discover and assemble their own looks. A walk-in closet, inspired by the lightness of Hanbok fabric, along with a central fabric installation, brings a sense of cultural resonance and softness, balancing the industrial setting with a distinctly Korean sensibility.
INSPIRING FASHION RETAIL DESIGN
On the third floor, the focus is on personalization and digital engagement. Outfits styled by key opinion leaders and local creators are presented under the theme “For You, By Me,” transforming the space into an intimate environment for experimentation and self-expression. The central fitting room, lined with mirrors, evokes the energy of a runway, amplifying the sense of immersion and adaptability for events and content creation. Each section is designed to function as a zone for different creators, making the store a living platform for Seoul’s creative community.
H&M’s Seongsu with its intention of cultivating a cultural hub, a content engine, and a stage for one and for all is shaped by SKYnoa’s architectural vision. This vision is rooted in the district’s industrial past and Seoul’s contemporary creative energy. The team has delivered a space where fashion, art, and identity converge. The result is a new kind of retail experience: immersive, locally attuned, and globally resonant, echoing the evolving rhythm of Seongsu and setting a new standard for the future of fashion spaces in Seoul and wider.
Discover more of the H&M Seongsu space in our gallery:
For more projects by SKYnoa log on to skynoa.com.
