This fall, fashionphiles have something other than just the usual fall sweater dressing, wool tailoring, and tall boots to get excited about. Main street giant H&M is going to be creating one of their infamous capsule collections with none other than colourful fashion label Kenzo.
Creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim are at the helm of the design house, whose colorful designs and edgy use of pattern and geometric shape feel like an excellent match for the H&M demographic, which has a youthful and fashion-forward following. Right now, the collection that is planned will encompass menswear, womenswear, and some select accessories. Ann-Sophie Johansson is the creative director for H&M, and revealed plans for the collection to the fashion press on the 25th of may.
We can’t wait to share with everyone the world of KENZO x H&M, with all of its creativity, fun and love of fashion.
Leon and Lim have also issued a statement of intent to work with the brand.
With this collaboration with H&M we want to think big, push the boundaries and bring the new energy of KENZO to everyone around the world.
Kenzo will be in some pretty big-name company not that the design house has decided to partake in a collaboration with H&M. Kenzo follows in the footsteps of the likes of Isabel Marant, Alexander Wang, Matthew Williamson, Marni, Karl Lagerfeld, and the most recent collaboration, Balmain.
While the much-anticipated H&M collaborations have produced some amazing pieces and are always hugely anticipated and massively popular, I can them “infamous”, because in addition to being sought-after, the pieces are incredibly difficult to get your hands on. While there are a lucky few that will be allowed early access (like your top-tier bloggers, certain members of the fashion press, etc), most of us will have to line ourselves up either outside of one of the locations that sells the capsule collection (not all of them will), or employ some guerrilla shopping tactics in order to secure yourself that piece that you feel you simply can’t live without. Seriously, people to over the top for this stuff. There was recently an article in the Guardian about the most recent Balmain collaboration, in which the author, Morwenna Ferrier, recounts her harrowing tale of retail warfare.
There were queues overnight and dresses being resold on the black market at 10 times the original price. Such was the cult of this particular collaboration that I had a fight over a T-shirt that I’ve never actually worn
So there you go. People get serious about this stuff. Feel like you need a few pointers? I’ve got your back.
H&M Capsule Collection Pointer No. 1 – Look at the promotional materials and figure out what it is you want
If you follow fashion, you will already probably have seen some of the collection previews; treat these “first look” releases as a personal shopping experience. Choose a few pieces that you think suit you that you can focus on. When the collection opens (either in store or online), it can be chaos, and it will likely be a bit of a free-for-all as everyone makes a beeline towards the same merchandise. If you are shopping online, expect the site to be slow. Remember when Target’s website crashed when they did that collaboration with Missoni? Yeah, so do I. I helped cause it.
H&M Capsule Collection Pointer No. 2 – Log in to the website about a half hour before the collection drops
If online shopping is more your speed, don’t wait until the last minute to try to log on (see above story about the Target/Missoni collaboration). Make sure that you have access to the store’s website, that you have created an account, and can log in. Hang about browsing for about 30 minutes before the collection is supposed to go live to ensure that there are no bugs in your account or that you don’t have to wait in a queue in order to access the site if it’s really popular.
H&M Capsule Collection Pointer No. 3 – don’t be tempted to buy something that you wouldn’t normally buy or wear
While nobody understands the thrill of getting a coveted designer piece of clothing better than I, getting your hands on a rare piece that you will probably never wear is still not as good a deal as leaving it on the shelf. In other words, do not be tempted to purchase something simply because it’s there. If it’s not your style, you are likely never going to wear it. Save your money for something that you will actually wear.
