Had to stop in front of an H&M store yesterday at the sight of the studly Ben Gorham in the latest ads for the mass retailer’s “Fresh Start” campaign. Enjoy more images on the flip, shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin via. Happy Monday girls and boys!
H&M x Marni: a great-looking collabo, would be easy to be hypnotized by the prints alone but the fabric story is just as rich. Look for this collection in select stores on March 8th.
I posted up a sneak peek of the H&M x Versace Resort 2012 collection this morning (a news story I apparently missed when it went live in November ’cause I was out of the country and drinking non-stop–praise alcohol), and shortly thereafter the fashion internet exploded with official images of all the offerings. Mine came via Fashionindie (where you can see the guys’ stuff, too). The writer there is less enamored with this collection and yes, it is more subdued, less screaming Gianni, but for those who aren’t so much into statement pieces it could be the more preferable of the two collections–the softer side of Versace if you will.
As stated earlier, the big catch is that it will only available online, leaving us Yanks out of the fun since there is no H&M etail here, which no worries, you can always wait ’til the above dress shows up on Ebay sold at only double the price of an actual Versace dress. [UPDATE: Ahh, thought there would be a trick like this--in the comments a reader tells us H&M is planning to launch a U.S. etail site in January.]
See the rest of the women’s pieces on the next page.
It’s just surfacing widely now, but back around Thanksgiving Thebijouxeditrex gave the world a glimpse of another season’s collaboration between H&M and Versace. Next up is Cruise, which, according to the author, will be available on line only. She says:
”…and for all of you who can’t get enough of the Versace vibes or couldn’t get to a store to take part in last week’s fashion scrum, the collabo continues with a Cruise collection going exclusively online in January 2012. Think fruity floral prints in blue lilac, candy pink and white, spaghetti straps, baby doll dresses, printed denim hot pants, white jeans with gold embroidered side seams, bikini’s, ballet pumps and strappy sandals.”
Maybe time to add an H&M gift card to the gift list? See the rest of the images on the next page.
H&M has released images of the collection designed in conjuntion with the movie Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Nothing ground breaking and not meant to be–just plenty of everyday, affordable pieces you could wear down to the ground if this is a look that appeals.
For those who found the sky-high levels of hype around the H&M x Versace collabo a turnoff, H&M’s upcoming collabo with Marni may be more up your alley. Based in Italy and headed up by designer Consuelo Castiglioni, the appeal of the line is its artsy aesthetic, which comes through via prints, unusual fabric combos and easy silhouettes more suitable for city daydreaming than office crunching. And judging by some of the comments on Youtube attached to the above sneak peek video, there’s already quite a bit of dismissing going on, which could mean much less crazed lines on launch day. One can dream anyway ; )
The celebrities–many of them sporting outfits from the collaboration–came out in full force for the H&M x Versace runway presentation held in New York City last night. Big names included Uma Thurman, Blake Lively, Prince, Linda Evangelista, Blondie, Sofia Coppola, Alan Cumming, Terry Richardson, plus more. NY-based designers were there in big numbers, too, including Alexander Wang (above with Zoe Kravitz), Joseph Altuzarra, Lazaro Hernandez & JackMcCollough, Anna Sui and Brian Atwood.
See all of the above on the next page plus a bunch more.
Above is a video of the H&M x Versace runway show, which took place last night in New York City. I’m sitting here trying to think of any retailer or brand that does a better job of hyping its collaborations than H&M and I’m drawing a blank. It really is a master at the game. As always the Snobs view it as a big win for budget-minded fashion lovers and H&M, with a more questionable outcome for the brand being collaborated with. It would be so interesting if someone were to investigate the impact these partnerships have a year or so after all the attention has faded. A positive because of all the increased publicity or a negative with the core customer turned off by the down-marketing of a lux brand?
