Category: VERSACE

In case you were wondering whether or not sales of the Versace for H&M collection would match the hype, fear not: They did! The collection went on sale in the UK, Europe and basically the world yesterday (we here in North America have to wait until tomorrow) and people were clamoring for it.

There are multiple reports out of London that people started camping out the afternoon prior to the 9am opening on November 17, and the internet traffic crashed the retailer’s website. Marie Claire UK reports that H&M locations in Dubai and Beijing sold out in under 30 minutes, and that pieces–not coincidentally–popped up on eBay shortly afterwards. There’s a ton of stuff available there now, and the most expensive we saw–oddly–was the floral/leopard printed men’s bomber jacket for $750, followed closely by the women’s long studded leather coat for $700.

And what about the people who actually bought the collection to wear it? The pieces at the top of everyone’s list, not surprisingly, seem to have been the leather jackets and dresses; the black pieces in general seem to be the most coveted items. Grazia stopped a lot of shoppers in London to peep at what they bought–that black studded leather dress was a must-have, and so was the floral pillow. WWD reports that at a preview party thrown by Emmanuelle Alt, “within 15 minutes, the rails had been picked clean of all black dresses, but the French crowd seemed less keen on the more colorful items.” We suspect NYC may have similar issues.

Speaking of New York, you better start lining up now. According to a tweet by @ItsJenniferWard, who works in publicity at H&M:

Wow two die hard @Versace for @hmusa fans have been lined up at 51st and 5th since 11am.. Collection is on sale Saturday. Impressive!!

And she tweeted that YESTERDAY, for a collection that doesn’t go on sale until tomorrow. Bundle up and get out there if you want a chance at this collection.

 

 

And the madness begins…

 

Versace for H&M hit stores today in London, Paris, Milan and Shanghai today, and, as I expected, shoppers came out in droves in person and online to shop the new collection. In Shanghai a fight even broke out when some of the professional queuers (yes, this is apparently a real thing) didn’t want to wait on line, WWD is reporting. On line (like the internet kind of line), there was a bit of Missoni for Target deja vu. H&M’s e-commerce site crashed only moments after the collaboration went up for sale, according to the Daily Mail.

 

I checked the retailer’s e-commerce site and while it appears they are still having technical difficulties (only some of us were able to get through), it doesn’t seem like the site is completely down anymore. H&M apologized over Twitter for the inconvenience to shoppers saying, “Followers, we’re sorry about the technical problems in our shop online markets – we’re working hard to solve them!”

 

Stateside, I have much more exciting news when it comes to H&M’s e-commerce: The fast-fashion retailer will (finally) be launching their first online shop in the US in fall 2012, according to this Tweet. Let’s just hope they work out all the kinks in time for us to shop their next drool-worthy designer collaboration–perhaps with Tom Ford–online.

 

We try not to encourage psychotic behavior, but we have to post these videos from the Versace for H&M show and party in NYC last night. We’re not sure what we’re more giddy about — seeing the clothes in person or seeing Prince in person (…yeah, the clothes are that good), but you can judge for yourself. Check out the two videos after the break!

Photo: Via Barracuda Film & TV

 

H&M hasn’t yet released the TV commercial for its upcoming Versace collaboration, but a behind-the-scenes look at the set — complete with a few quick clips from the commercial was released. Lindsey Wixson runs on a hamster wheel, and Daphne Groeneveld is floated off a staircase by a wire — both while dressed like teenage Donatella Versace. As for the set itself, H&M’s creative director describes it best: “I think we actually used all the gold paint in London that was available for this job.”

 

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kdfmpU9NkA0

Need a little Versace for H&M fix to tide you over until the collection hits stores on November 17? I got you covered. I’ve already showed you the entire collection and now I’ve got an exclusive video of Miss Donatella herself to walk you through the collection.

Versace explains how the collection is a history of the brand, highlighting pieces that represent iconic “Gianni” moments. “I know that with the H&M collection I’m going to reach a much wider audience than usual,” Versace says. “When I’m going to see young people in the street wearing these iconic pieces it’s going to be fun.” Will you be one of those young people in the street wearing Versace for H&M?

 

I just got all the images from the Versace for H&M collection, and we’re slapping them up on the site as fast as we can cut and paste. Of note: the leather jacket, those prints, that iconic black dress, that pointed shoe, those belts! I LOVE all of those metallic dresses and the bags, but the good stuff is really getting us thinking about fine tuning our crowd battling strategy… How many more sleeps until November 17?