I can’t remember exactly when the news broke that the next designer brand to collaborate with hallowed high-street Swedish retailer H&M was to be Italian purveyor of ever-so-slightly-tacky luxury, Versace, but I do recall exactly what I felt on hearing the announcement – indifference.
Actually, aside from indifference I was generally positive about the whole concept. At least this time ’round it’s cheap and cheaper getting together, rather than an attempt to marry two disparate taste-levels of the fashion market, which almost always results in a watered-down (in terms of both quality, and v. often design) version of one of your favourite designers’ aesthetics.
Cut to this morning, I sleepily log on to Twitter and click through someone’s link to the look-book. Cue immediate identity crisis…
‘cos lo and behold it’s actually good and I want pretty much every piece from the collection. To fully understand the weight of this statement, you’ve got to consider that, generally, H&M collaborations really don’t succeed in stirring my loins all that much. Also, my personal aesthetic preferences couldn’t get further away from all this brash and colourful excess but hey, people change.
But what is it exactly that has me enraptured? The unabashed tartiness? The possibility of dressing like a character from Grand Theft Auto: Miami Vice? The model, who frankly would make any old tat look irresistible? Shudder to think what I’d look like in the above Hawaiian long-sleeve tee or below fuschia suit – something along the lines of an extra from My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding no doubt…
Pikey chic or no, see you in the queue…
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Really? I still remain indifferent, partly because I wouldn't be to keen on wearing something so recognizably H&M X Versace. However, that pink suit does seem to have potential…
Ever so slightly??! They revel in their tackiness, which is what I think makes it so cool. The other day I found this amazing shop (probably pop-up) in Shoreditch selling loads of vintage Versace shirts, the kind chemistry teachers probably wore in the 80s, and my friend and I decided that in most cases, they were just too wrong to be right. I do however love the look of that collaboration varsity jacket in the last photo! We could be fighting for it come November!
Another thing that is worth a mention is the quality of the garments. If we look at the collaboration between H&M and Lanvin, the quality was, shall we say, poor, and this is something that we don't expect. Yes the collection is high street, but the bragging rights are that luxury fashion houses such as Lanvin and Versace have made the usual high street collections something special, therefore differentiating from the norm. This has come in the form of design, but this should also come in quality too. Obviously we've not had our hands on the recent collaboration, but a gut feeling says the quality isn't going to be that good..