#ALEXANDERWANGxHM

source: h&m

Whoa.
It was just announced today that Alexander Wang (that we all affectionately call A Wang, like we were bffs or something) will be the newest collaborator with the mega brand giant H&M.  The Balenciaga creative director will be the first American designer to partner with H&M and Wang will likely deliver a collection peppered with desirable accessories that we can't get enough of.

Past collab launches of Maison Martin Margiela and Isabel Marant  have caused fashion frenzies; and true to form Wang's contribution is sure to get everyone hot and bothered when the collection drops November 6th.

Isabel Marant pour H&M

photo: h&m

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Last night Montreal's flagship H&M store hosted a shopping preview for many press/industry-ish guests of Isabel Marant's collaboration for the Swedish mega-chain.  As I waited to enter, I watched through the windows as the frenzy began for her signature pieces of boho/rocknroll/rolled-out-of-bed-looking-this-fabulous/cool girl styles.  But this collection wasn't just for the ladies, Marant designed her first capsule collection for men (and kids!) so they could have a piece of that cool-knit pie. 

obligatory crowd shot

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PR gurus for H&M Karen & Denis decked out in Marant finery

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Debbie tries on (L) leather trousers, (C) boys hat, (R) shiny patterned trousers 

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Yours truly was unsuccessful scoring any Marant booty, but the cream puffs kind of made up for it. Yum!

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friends helping friends clean up and clean out

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all gone

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So the preview was totally cleaned out.  But don't despair!  There's plenty to be had when the collection drops November 14, 8AM at select stores.

MMM x H&M just landed

It is safe to say that there was much anticipation for the Maison Martin Margiela collaboration for H&M after early views of the collection were released. Last night at the media/industry preview a controlled chaos took hold of the flagship store as shoppers staked their claim.

 Crowd view from above!

Frothy cocktails and a staff member wears a Margiela apron.

After the initial rush of the crowd I got to lean back and enjoy a tasty canapé or two and watch those who scored a large haul exit with arms full of the logoed white on white shopping bags.  As for yours truly, I picked up the silver candy wrapper clutch and hightailed it to the cinema to watch two and a half hours of Daniel Craig wearing Tom Ford suits (nerd out here and here).

MMM x H&M

With almost twenty designer collaborations under their belt H&M got everyone all excited back in 2004 with their first guest designer Karl Lagerfeld.  Many other mass market retailers have gone collab cray cray, increasing the interest in the luxury market and bringing forth many covetable and affordable pieces to your wardrobe or your home (Target x Neiman Marcus is coming up for those watching).  The downside of this are the hoarders who line up, clean up and sell on eBay for way more than the items' worth, thus defeating the purpose.
Ok, now that I got that out of my system...

Dropping on November 15th is the mysterious house of  Maison Martin Margiela collaboration with H&M.  The collection consists of approximately 104 items of apparel and accessories for men and women of off-kilter proportions. (And I do mean this in a good way).

While I was browsing the press site, I had an accessory surprise moment: I got a kick out of these metallic candy wrapper clutches.  I visualized them the size of a wallet or an standard issue envelope clutch and thought that that was awesome in of itself.  But wait! There's more to it...

Extra baggy pants aside-look at the size of that clutch! It's HUGE! How can you ever be cranky carrying that thing around? Sign me up!