As fashion’s finest gathered for the opening night of H&M’s ‘Cherish Waste’ exhibition at Studio 525 in New York City, they were immediately greeted with an instillation mimicking the shape of a clothes hamper. The floor to ceiling mesh pop-up encourages guests to donate unwanted clothing for repurposing and marks the ethos behind the brand’s engaging exhibition and accompanying Cherish Waste collection.

In the adjacent space, fashion blended with technology as the brand’s latest offerings are dispersed next to interactive touchscreens, warm lighting, and voices sharing notes of love inspired by the Cherish Waste pieces: heart-shaped evening dresses, knitted spike pullovers, and frill-trimmed pink shirts. All of which are made with cutting-edge materials like recycled silk and polyester.

The collection is the fifth drop in H&M’s Innovation Stories series which first launched in early 2021 and focuses on providing sustainable materials and technologies in the manufacturing process. The latest offering showcases circular, recycled materials—plant-based leather, consumer waste recycled yarn, and more—that are fashionably repurposed into must-have items.

Also on display were the brand’s impressive collaborators for the collection: Natural Fiber Welding, Newlight, Unifi, Inc., ITOCHU Corporation, Eastman Naia™, and Rubi Laboratories. On the cutting edge of sustainability in the fashion industry, these partners played a major in role developing the technologies embedded in the Cherish Waste collection.

Pieces were presented museum-style on sleek mannequins and attendees navigated throughout the sprawling space to get the perfect glimpse. Taking in all the exhibition has to offer were a host of notable figures and friends of H&M like Evan Mock, Winnie Harlow, Barbie Ferreira, and Ella Emhoff.

Too, a handful of guests sported the latest drop on opening night, fully showing off the playful versatility of the collection. Emhoff wore a billowing leopard-print coat made of recycled polyester, a Eastman Naia™ renew fabric cut-out bodysuit, and recycled cotton low-rise trousers. Ferreira sported the recycled satin and lace top with plastic-free studded mules while Mock casually rocked the collection’s organic cotton oversized graphic T-shirt. And looking fire, literally, was Winnie Harlow who donned the printed heart set composed of Eastman Naia™ Cellulosic Acetate 100%.

While champagne and wine, provided by environmentally friendly alcohol brand Freixenet Cava, flowed and guests buzzed about, H&M’s newest collection and accompanying exhibition received a welcome for the books. The engaging space is sure to excite goers and is the ideal backdrop for how the fashion industry can evolve with sustainable, technology-focused practices.

The Cherish Waste exhibition will be open to the public from April 29 to May 1 at Studio 525 (525 West 24th Street). The full collection launched globally on April 21 and will be available on May 5 in the U.S. and Canada.