Dubai: High-street retailer H&M on Thursday announced plans to collaborate with French design label Lanvin.
The low-cost Swedish fashion powerhouse commissioned the luxury label Lanvin to design an exclusive winter collection, that’s sure to delight fashionistas around the world.
Lanvin’s charismatic artistic director Alber Elbaz, appointed in 2001, transformed the creaking century-old Lanvin into a leading French fashion house. His very feminine designs, which often feature ribbons, pearls or metallic elements, are regularly mimicked.
Now he’ll be bringing that luxurious French femininity to the high street.
The collection hits Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates stores on November 23.
“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,” said Elbaz in a statement. “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.”
The Lanvin H&M collection will also include clothing for men, designed by Lanvin’s menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver.
“It’s very much a Lanvin collection, using their cut and tailoring, with lots of focus on form and details for both women and men,” said Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor at H&M. The launch in November is going to be full of wonderful surprises.”
Prospective shoppers will be able to have a sneak preview of the designs on November 2, when a film showcasing the collection will be released online at www.hm.com.
Previous H&M collaborations have involved such diverse designers as Madonna, Jimmy Choo, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Comme des Garçons and Sonia Rykiel.
