Ann-Sofie Johansson

Johansson grew up in Ronneby, an hour away from Stockholm, Sweden.[1] As a youth, she shopped often at H&M, calling it the "heaven of fashion".[1]

After first thinking about becoming a veterinarian, Johansson instead pursued art science studies and archaeology at Gothenburg and Lund universities – it was then that she realized she wanted a career involving artistic creativity.[2] She took some evening courses in design at the Anders Beckman's School in Stockholm.[3]

In 1987, after deciding she wanted to become a fashion designer, Johansson took a job as sales assistant at H&M.[2][4] Three years later, she showed her portfolio to company head of design Margareta van den Bosch and was given H&M's new position of design assistant.[5][2] From 1994 to 2005, Johansson worked as a designer for the Young department at H&M, before moving to the Ladies' department.[2] In 2008, Johansson was promoted to Head of Design, working with 140 designers, and in 2013 she began overseeing H&M's special collections shown in Paris.[2]

Johansson became Creative Advisor in 2015, and has subsequently worked as H&M's spokesperson and representative.[2] Her job involves travel, fashion research, designer collaborations, and the overseeing of H&M's "brand building" collections.[5]