H&M Is Launching ‘Affordable Luxury’ Brand ‘/Nyden’ For Millennials

Following last year’s ‘Arket’ and Erdem x H&M announcements, the retail brand now sets its sights on millennials with the debut of a new “affordable luxury” brand.

/Nyden will be headed by Swede Oscar Olsson, who’s worked at H&M since 2013, and in 2017, was appointed as head of H&M’s Innovation Lab. This saw him reporting directly to CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

The brand’s name is a fusion of the Swedish words “ny” and “den,” meaning “new” and “it” respectively. The dash inside the brand’s logo represents co-creation, a philosophy that will resonate throughout its products. Rather than following seasonal trends, /Nyden will pride itself on being a collaborative label, working with “tribe leaders” who are hand-picked by Olsson to co-make apparels. First up on the roster are tattoo artist Doctor Woo and Swedish actress Noomi Rapace.

According to Olsson,/Nyden’s core audience will be millennials, or what he calls ‘Netocrats’.

“The Netocrat is more sensitive than ever to credibility, authenticity, and personality,” explained Olsson to The Cut. “They’re also more sensitive than ever to exploitation of themselves or other people.” As such, Olsson believes that the traditional top-down approach, where brands decide what consumers want, won’t work for this group.

/Nyden’s releases will be limited, with its “affordable luxury” price points varying depending on the item. Since “tribe leaders” are involved, Olsson believes that consumers will form a lasting bond with the items that they buy.

“Co-creation is about people that are a part of tribes connecting across tribes and creating something they couldn’t on their own… It’s about having a process where one plus one becomes four.”