Well, rumour has it that the next H&M collaboration is going to be with Lanvin. Although it is not confirmed, I was having dinner with some fashion insiders last night (Lisa Tant and Imran Amed) and they both seemed to think Lanvin was the one, although it won’t be officially announced until September 9th. H&M deserve mega-credit for their teaser videos, launched two days ago on Youtube. First of all, they are amazing to watch. Secondly, they get us thinking… who could it be? Before Lanvin, rumours were flying around about Bottega Veneta and Carolina Herrera, amongst others. I’ve posted two of the videos here, check them out. Apparently the quotes sound very “Alber Elbaz”, although I am sure it could be someone else as well.
I had a discussion with my students today about H&M’s designer collaborations, and we all seemed to agree that H&M had far more credibility than other “collaborative” fast fashion brands, because they work primarily with great fashion designers, rather than celebrities (Madonna and Kylie Minogue being the two exceptions.) The only other brand that I can think of who has managed this is Target, who have also done some great collaborations, and more recently, gained increased exposure because by selling their product through Gilt Groupe and in Colette.
A Kate Moss for Topshop dress, which does not look very "Kate Moss" and which is quite overpriced at approx. $250.
Which brings me to think, are we beginning to see the end of the celebrity collaborations? (Please God say it’s true!) Kate Moss has ended her relationship with Topshop this week, apparently on bad terms, and I am guessing it is because the clothes were never that interesting in the first place. They were being greedy rolling out 6 collections a year, and charging high prices, for something that wasn’t even properly designed by her. Luxury brands have been distancing themselves from celebrity collaborations (I hope we won’t need to see any more Kanye + Louis Vuitton crap), and I think the consumer is getting sick of it. Now that designers like Alber Elbaz and Phoebe Philo are practically household names, why do we need a celebrity to give kudos to a fashion brand, when a top designer can do the same thing?
Anyway, back to H&M. What are your thoughts? I’d love it to be Lanvin, but only if I manage to get my hands on it without having to wait in line. I was a bit scared that it might be Tomas Maier from Bottega Veneta, simply because I want the brand to remain secret (well, it is obviously not a secret, but it clearly doesn’t have much exposure) because I haven’t managed to buy anything from them yet. Until I can own some Bottega Veneta, I don’t want it going mainstream. It is sort of like the way you feel about bands when you are a teenager, you never want anyone else to know about your favourite bands, because then they are uncool. On the other hand, it is not likely I’ll become a Bottega Veneta customer anytime soon, because their clothing is VERY expensive, and is not available anywhere in Canada. Regardless of who the H&M designer is, there is no doubt it is going to be exciting!
P.S. One of the things that was brought up last night while we were gushing about the greatness of Bottega Veneta, was the fact that their collections are not at all branded. Imran explained that as a result of this, the brand was something you buy “for you.” And what a lovely way to think about a luxury brand. It is not about flashing labels and monograms, buying luxury should be always for yourself, not the people who are going to recognize the logo.
**** UPDATE ****
It has been confirmed, the collaboration with Lanvin will come out in stores on November 23rd. Here is a quote from Alber Elbaz.
“H&M approached us to collaborate, and see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less. I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.”
