Ruth Carter x H&M: Trust your voice

From Spike Lee’s ‘Do the Right Thing’ in 1989 and ‘Malcolm X’ in 1992, right up to Ryan Coogler’s ‘Black Panther’ in 2019, Academy Award winning costume designer Ruth Carter has told stories and made statements through her work. In Spring 2020, she teamed up with H&M to create her first ever fashion line, a women’s streetwear collection full of references to her early career in the ’90s.

“This collaboration with H&M captures one aspect of my daily style on movie sets; I need the comfort and versatility of a great sweatshirt or hoodie when I work.”

The 10-piece collection of hoodies, T-shirts, and bucket hats represents a distillation of Carter’s onscreen aesthetic and the vibrant feel of ’80s-style streetwear. Inspirational spirit underscores the entire collection. Shirts with uplifting slogans like “trust your voice” and “truth” serve to echo Carter’s journey and the struggles many people of color face.