The New Romantic party wardrobe has arrived at H&M Studio

If your go-to holiday outfit means one safe dress and a blazer, H&M Studio is asking you to kindly move on. 

Celebrating the theatrical excess of the New Romantics subculture movement of the 1970s, the brand has launched its latest collection, H&M Studio Holiday 2025, which is all about extravagant shapes, fierce and attitude. 

The collection is framed as an escapist, glamorous take on party season, built around self-expression and creativity rather than anything too polite. Expect exaggerated ruffles, sharp shoulders, dramatic dotted lace, dark florals, washed leather and sheer sequinned mesh, all sitting somewhere between 1980s exuberance and a very current sense of pragmatism.

The palette stays deep and nocturnal with the use of black, dark chocolate brown, burgundy, beige, white and a dash of acid yellow. Materials run from lightweight taffeta and mesh to heavy cotton, jacquards and that all-important washed leather. Key pieces such as a strong black tuxedo with a cropped blazer and high-waisted trousers that open at the back, a voluminous black polka-dot mesh cape with a high ruffled collar and deep ruffled hem, thrown over a sleeveless black dress with intricate draping, and a beige sequinned mesh bandeau dress with full-body ruching for maximum shine, are ones to note. 

Shirts were given extra attention when designing this line. The classic white tux shirt is cut with a wide-open collar and sliced-out shoulders, deliberately leaving space for heavy necklaces or earrings. A second white shirt goes full drama with a ruffled high collar, tuxedo bib front and deep cuffs, begging to be half-tucked, unbuttoned or layered.

A season must-have, outerwear, also got its moment with a brown-black long wool belted coat in a blown-up check with a detachable scarf attachment, and a cropped black washed leather jacket that borrows its lines from a trench, made for slinging over everything. 

Accessories push each look further with pieces such as black washed satin kitten heels with oversized bows, dark chocolate boots with a wide draped leather shaft, black lace gloves with a ruffled hem, multi-strand necklaces and a washed velvet denim beret.

The collection dropped at Dubai Mall on November 17, and the line has been live online in the UAE and Kuwait since November 18 – ready for anyone still piecing together their end-of-year alter ego.