Stockholm-based fast-fashion brand H&M pulled out all the stops for the Los Angeles party celebrating its designer collaboration with Erdem on Wednesday, transforming the courtyard and hallways of the Wilshire Ebell Theatre into a maze-like English garden, tapping filmmaker Baz Luhrmann to create a short film, hiring Canadian avant-garde synth-pop singer Grimes to perform at the after-party and opening a one-night-only, on-site pop-up shop where pieces from the runway show could be snapped up by invited guests immediately — two weeks ahead of the collection’s official launch.
Launched in London in 2005 by designer Erdem Moralioglu and known for its feminine touches, focus on textiles and vibrant prints, the Erdem label has long been a darling of the fashion flock (in 2010, it took home the very first Vogue/British Fashion Council Designer Fashion Fund Award, one of many accolades earned over the last dozen years) and is usually found on the racks of high-end retailers where silk blouses start in the $1,000-plus (Dh3,672) range, and a floral velvet dress is priced just shy of $4,000. By comparison, the H&M collaboration will range from $34.99 to $299 when it hits retail early next month.
The collection that came down the catwalk on October 18, which included the designer’s first-ever menswear offerings, definitely felt more high-end than that price point might suggest: skirts, dresses and gowns for women in various permutations of black lace and allover floral prints as well as trim-fitting suits, pants and blazers for men in traditional suiting grays, windowpane checks and Harris tweeds.
Thanks to the collection’s generous dash of androgyny, men and women hit the runway in knee-length animal-print coats, slouchy mohair sweaters, flower-print pyjama-style tops and trousers and silky black suits (including a few with double-breasted jackets) festooned with flowers, and white shirts with high, ruffled collars that added an air of English aristocracy to the garden party.
Besides Luhrmann and Grimes (who performed a rousing set during the event’s after party), notables in attendance for the Secret Garden party included Kate Mara, Zendaya, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Bosworth and Selma Blair.
The Erdem X H&M collection hits H&M’s website and select brick-and-mortar stores worldwide on November 2.
