Time has flown: it has been 10 years since Hennes & Mauritz began its designer collaborations, the first with Karl Lagerfeld.
The company will release a book, The First Ten Years, coinciding with its Alexander Wang x H&M launch on November 6.
At the time, Lucire called it a move toward ‘attainable luxury’: that even at a budget price, customers deserved to look good. It was a move toward democratization, something that had been seen en masse with technology, extended to fashion.
The first Karl Lagerfeld for H&M collection prompted the designer to say, ‘Taste and looking chic is no longer a question of money or how you spend, but how you create a unique sense of style.’
H&M’s collaborators have included Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Roberto Cavalli, Comme des Garcons, Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo, Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin, Versace, Marni, Maison Martin Margiela, Isabel Marant and Alexander Wang.
The book features imagery from all designers, and will retail for US$34·95, available through select H&M stores in the US. A quarter of the cover price will go to Unicef.
H&M will begin its celebration with a design retrospective at its flagship 589 Fifth Avenue, New York City store on October 27, with looks from each past designer.
The store will showcase a new look from the Alexander Wang x H&M collection each day by way of preview.
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