Versace Launch New Collection for H&M
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November 10, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
H&M has launched a new, affordable collection by Donatella Versace. True to form, Versace gave us a truly magnificent show.
Held in New York’s fashion-conscious Meatpacking district last night, celebrities including Blake Lively, Uma Thurman and Jessica Alba were on the guest list. With performances from Prince and Nicki Minaj, this was not your typical high-street fashion show.
The show, which began a fashionable 45 minutes late, was bursting with the dazzling colours and flamboyant prints that have made Versace such a recognisable brand. Models sported leggings teamed with colour-clashing corsets, and mini dresses embellished with sequins, all topped with Versace’s trademark leopard print.
The catwalk was a flourish of vibrant colours with Versace using a pallet of blues, pinks, greens and oranges. Models carried floral handbags and wore impressive gold chokers. They had their hair scraped back behind black headscarves, and had futuristic, smudged eye-makeup to complete the look.
This is not the first time H&M have teamed up with a designer brand. In the past they have worked with Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, and Jimmy Choo, but Donatella Versace wants this time to be different. She said: “Everyone said ‘Let’s do safe clothes of a good quality that people will invest in and wear year after year.’ That couldn’t be more wrong. The companies that survived the most were the ones that were recognisable, that stuck to their DNA, and our DNA is glamour.”
Donatella Versace, who took control of the brand 14 years ago when her brother, Gianni, died, said that she knows what H&M’s audience want from their clothes. She said: “Young people like to dress up and look cool.” And the world-renowned designer, who has children in their 20s herself, is difficult to argue with.
With prices ranging from £24.99 to £199.99, the collection is certainly more affordable than Versace’s usual creations, while still remaining true to the design house’s ethos of “glamour”. Shoppers will decide whether or not high-end can translate to high-street when the collection is launched on November 17.
By Nicola Groves
[Image courtesy of david_shankbone]