Ann-Sofie Johansson is a Swedish fashion designer, known for being the Creative Advisor and former Head of Design for retailer H&M.
Early life and education
editJohansson grew up in Ronneby, an hour away from Stockholm, Sweden.[1] As a youth, she shopped often at H&M, calling it the "heaven of fashion".[1]
After first thinking about becoming a veterinarian, Johansson instead pursued art science studies and archaeology at Gothenburg and Lund universities – it was then that she realized she wanted a career involving artistic creativity.[2] She took some evening courses in design at the Anders Beckman's School in Stockholm.[3]
Career at H&M
editIn 1987, after deciding she wanted to become a fashion designer, Johansson took a job as sales assistant at H&M.[2][4] Three years later, she showed her portfolio to company head of design Margareta van den Bosch and was given H&M's new position of design assistant.[5][2] From 1994 to 2005, Johansson worked as a designer for the Young department at H&M, before moving to the Ladies' department.[2] In 2008, Johansson was promoted to Head of Design, working with 140 designers, and in 2013 she began overseeing H&M's special collections shown in Paris.[2]
Johansson became Creative Advisor in 2015, and has subsequently worked as H&M's spokesperson and representative.[2] Her job involves travel, fashion research, designer collaborations, and the overseeing of H&M's "brand building" collections.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Profile: H&M's creative brain Ann-Sofie Johansson on its designer collabs". Retail Week. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
- ^ a b c d e f "How I got my job... as an H&M fashion boss". www.glamourmagazine.co.uk. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
- ^ Murphy, Robert (2008-01-16). "Ann-Sofie Johansson to Lead Design at H&M". WWD. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
- ^ "How to get a job in the fashion industry". www.glamourmagazine.co.uk. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
- ^ a b "The Drapers Interview: Ann-Sofie Johansson". Drapers. Retrieved 2017-10-06.