COS

COS opened on London’s Regent Street in March 2007 with a catwalk show at the Royal Academy, its name an acronym for Collection of Style. Launched as the first portfolio brand under H&M Group, it arrived with a proposition that few mass retailers had attempted at the time, merging high fashion attributes such as fabric, finish and fit with ground-level pricing. The label that stuck came from the fashion press, who, as Business of Fashion later noted, dubbed it “high street Céline.”

Menswear was part of the project from day one, sitting alongside womenswear in equal weight. Michael Kristensen, the original menswear designer, framed the offer around fundamental pieces, the piqué polo, shirting, classic T-shirts and cashmere V-necks. The garments leaned on clean lines, slim cuts and a muted palette, with the occasional design twist, a contrast zip, a Western stitch on a leather bomber, a slim-fit cardigan.

Culturally, COS positioned itself near the territory occupied by Jil Sander, Margaret Howell and Acne Studios, drawing on architecture and industrial design as reference points. Head of menswear Martin Andersson, a Swede based in London for two decades, studied menswear design at Central Saint Martins, and the brand’s early credentials included commendations from Vogue and, on its US debut, American Vogue calling it the most exciting trans-Atlantic arrival since Isabel Marant opened its first store.

The business scaled quickly. COS grew from 1 percent to 3 percent of H&M’s total revenue between 2009 and 2014, an increase from 132 million dollars to 625 million dollars in sales, and by December 2022 operated 259 stores in 47 countries, selling online in over 38 markets. Growth slowed by the end of the 2010s.

In January 2020, BoF reported the departure of long-time managing director Marie Honda, who moved to another role within H&M group, alongside the heads of finance, operations and communications. The brand has since repositioned through a wholesale rollout, runway shows in New York and London, and a tighter focus on tailoring and outerwear.

Today COS dresses a customer who sits between UNIQLO and Jil Sander, men who want a wool overcoat, a pleated trouser or a knit polo at a price that does not require a designer budget, occupying the middle ground between the high street and the runway that it helped define.