Since 2004, Hennes & Mauritz has collaborated with several international designers and fashion icons. This collaborations helped H&M to boost the business and to become the authority in the fast-fashion world. Instead of selling cheap runway-replicas, they’ve decided to invite top designers to create their own capsule collections. If you want to buy you some Lagerfeld or Jimmy Choo you don’t need to wait for the sale season, you can spend your sweet 200 euro right away buying some hot stuff from a brand new exclusive collection for H&M.
2009-2010
Sonia Rykiel
Sonia Rykiel is one of the hottest upcoming H&M collaborations. “This collaboration fits perfectly with our philosophy. The Sonia Rykiel pour H&M lingerie collection is the ideal way to offer the essence of Rykiel to a great number of women around the world, and a beautiful way to close the year,” commented Natalie Rykiel, president and artistic director of Sonia Rykiel. This marks the first time that H&M has extended its designer collaboration to the world of lingerie and related accessories for women, with exclusive pieces to be launched in-store on December 5, 2009. The collection will be launched in 1,500 H&M stores worldwide and at the same time, Sonia Rykiel will make this lingerie collection available in Sonia Rykiel’s major boutiques around the world – another first for H&M. A second collaboration for spring 2010, featuring an iconic knitwear collection for women and girls accompanied by playful accessories. This second collection will be launched in around 250 H&M stores on February 20, 2010.
Jimmy Choo
This is the first time that H&M is collaborating with an accessories brand. Jimmy Choo will extend its creative vision to women’s clothing and men’s accessories, bags and shoes. The collection will be available from November 14 in around 200 stores across the world. “Jimmy Choo will bring to H&M a sophisticated, fashion forward, accessible and glamorous collection – the perfect party pieces to buy now and then wear out that night!” said Tamara Mellon, Founder and President of Jimmy Choo.
Supporting campaign is also remarkable. Shooted by Terry Richardson party girls Edita Vilkeviciute, Anna Jagodzinska and Sasha Pivovarova are flirting and having fun in a bar.
p.s. I really love this how-to-shop rules from the official site and I guess they are defensible.
Matthew Williamson
The British designer Matthew Williamson has been invited to create Spring / Summer collections. Started with an exclusive women’s fashion range at selected stores April 23, then continued with men’s and women’s pieces for Summer in all H&M stores world wide. In an exclusive for H&M, Williamson debuted his first ever menswear pieces.“This summer collection really embraces the holiday lifestyle. The silhouette is softened with the addition of long flowing dresses, smocks and kaftans in weightless fabric, and the peacock palette is warmed by accents of red and pink. For the men’s collection, imagine an Englishman who has travelled the world and incorporated the inspirations he has found into his personal style. I would hope to share a glimpse of the Matthew Williamson world, and to provide the perfect wardrobe options for Summer 2009”, said Matthew Williamson.
This designer collaboration for H&M drew the smallest crowd and everyone seemed to be able to load up on merchandise right away. Anyway, ten minutes - that’s how long it took almost every item from the Matthew Williamson for H&M collection to get snatched from the shelves, but some items like girly pink and blue cardigans were unclaimed.
2008
Comme Des Garçons
Comme des Garçons’ founder and head designer Rei Kawakubo created a women’s and a men’s collection Fall/Winter 2008, with some pieces for children too. Accessories and an exclusive unisex fragrance are also included in the collection. Rei Kawakubo’s collection was debuted at H&M’s new Tokyo store on November 8th 2008 and worldwide on November 13th. “It was extra fun going from Roberto Cavalli to Comme des Garçons, because it proves our point that fashion is not about one style. Roberto Cavalli’s fashion and Rei Kawakubo’s fashion are just two ways of expressing fashion. So we can keep doing the same business idea of collaboration but then hopefully keep surprising people with choices that are a little bit fun. From reading what people write on the internet, the customer who queued up for Roberto Cavalli might not the customer who will queue up for this collection. We will attract a totally different customer for this, but the more people we can get to visit H&M and realize that we have something for everyone, the better.” said Jörgen Andersson, H&M Brand & New Business Director in an interview for BoF.
For her part, Kawakubo said in an interview for The Independent “I was interested in selling Comme des Garçons in a new place where it has never been sold before and to people who may never have heard of it. Usually, Comme des Garçons only sells in places where people who understand it go.”
W magazine reported that Kawakubo also exerted tight control over the advertising, even though her first proposal was scrapped by H&M because it didn’t show any clothes. Given Kawakubo’s fearless, avant-garde approach to design and business, her tie-up with H&M was bound to produce more bristling than the retailer’s previous joint-label ventures with Roberto Cavalli, Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld. But look at those amazing pictures from the Japanese lookbook!
2007
Madonna
Madonna has worked hand in hand with the company’s design chief Margareta van den Bosch to create a range of clothes and accessories called M by Madonna for Spring 2007. The M by Madonna collection was much more extensive than previous lines designed by McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, or Viktor & Rolf. The capsule collection included dresses with kimono styling, walking shorts, pencil skirts, trenchcoats, cropped leather jackets and tailored jackets, white shirts – and an array of accessories: skinny belts, clutches, boots and sunglasses. Previously, H&M supplied Madonna and her entire entourage with a complete off-stage wardrobe for her Confessions world tour in 2006.
Roberto Cavalli
It’s not Roberto’s home party, it’s the Roberto Cavalli for H&M advertising campaign. Don’t you reconize Terry Richardson’s flash? The Italian designer created a one-off collection consisted of iconic menswear, 20 pieces, and womenswear, 25 pieces, including lingerie plus matching accessories. The collection is built around a selection of Roberto Cavalli’s favourite pieces throughout the years, of which many are made to wear on the red carpet.
”As the first Italian designer in the history of H&M, I enthusiastically welcomed this invitation, proud to bring the lively and positive spirit of my work to a new audience, who will be able to see and interpret my style in an individual way. I love freedom and challenges: breaking down barriers, experimenting in different directions. H&M is all this for me. I will add a dash of festivity and dreams”, explained Roberto Cavalli.
2006
Viktor & Rolf
Viktor & Rolf for H&M collection was built around the idea of a love story. A one time collection was launched on November 9th. Displayed separately at H&M stores, this collection contained a complete wardrobe of tailored pieces, casual pieces and party clothes, tuxedos for men and women, cocktail dresses and sweatshirts and jeans. There were everyday pieces like jeans, tops, knits, jackets and coats. In addition there were men’s and women’s accessories and underwear ranges. “This collection is a celebration of a unique bond between two perhaps unlikely partners. Struck by love is materialized in the use of the heart and arrow motif. The women’s wear collection features the heart, the men’s wear collection the arrow, and both graphic elements are used in a variation of techniques: embroidery, placed print and patchwork. Viktor & Rolf and H&M carve out this proclamation of love in signature Viktor & Rolf styles: twisted classics such as the trench, the white shirt, the tuxedo and the little black dress”, declared Viktor & Rolf.
Video from the stores openings is exactly the same that the previous one, so let me not to post it again. People are crazy. Enjoy the commercial instead.
2005
Stella McCartney
The most interesting thing about this collaboration was not the collection itself but scandalous cancelation of the supporting ad campaign featuring Kate Moss. The £1 million press and advertising campaign, photographed in London by Mario Sorrenti, was to be launched on Nov 10 and feature in the December issues of glossy magazines. The advertisements have been withdrawn after Moss’s cocaine faux pas. “H&M is strongly against drugs and for many years has actively supported the drug preventing organisation Mentor Foundation. After having evaluated the situation, H&M has decided that a campaign with Kate Moss is inconsistent with H&M’s clear dissociation with drugs.” Don’t try to find any pictures on the net, any links are thoroughly extirpated. Kate Moss has been replaced by an Italian model Mariacarla Boscono (for TV commercials) and a set of computer graphics (for press campaign).
2004
Karl Lagerfeld
In November 2004, selected H&M stores offered an exclusive collection by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. It was the first H&M collaboration experience. Lagerfeld created a collection of around 30 pieces including men’s and women’s lines, accessories and a frangrance Liquid Karl. The press reported large crowds the one-off capsule collection sold out within minutes in many of the chain’s stores during its Nov. 12 launch. “We’ve been operating this business for some 60 years and we’ve never seen anything like it,” said Jörgen Andersson. Swedish fashion chain has seen fourth-quarter profits rise 22% – boosted by strong demand for its premium-priced Karl Lagerfeld range. But Karl Lagerfeld wasn’t so excited. He said that he will never work with H&M again. By limiting the amount of creations, H&M were going against Lagerfeld’s principle for designing for the chain retailer. “I don’t think it is very kind, especially for people in small towns and countries in eastern Europe. It is snobbery created by anti-snobbery,” Lagerfeld said, “but what I really didn’t like was that certain fashion sizes were made bigger. What I created was fashion for slim, slender people. That was the original idea… Incomprehensible decisions made by the management have removed any desire I had to do something like that again.”
But let’s turn to the good side. TV commercial for “Karl Lagerfeld for H&M”, created by Red Room advertising agency, won silver at Cannes Lions Festival 2005.
Credits: Nitrolicious, Racked, W, H&M
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