Night of Lush

Has Refinery 29's countdown ad instilled a sense of fear in Statesiders where the collection is launching on TOMORROW?  For countries that are getting the collection next Tuesday on the 23rd, have queuing plans been formulated?  I feel ashamed that I'm not joining in on the camraderie this year due to work, particularly when it has been a sort of on-off tradition of mine to camp outside H&M Oxford Circus to do a mini summarising video on the proceedings AND in my view it's probably the best designer collaboration H&M has done to date, which is actually a 180 degree changed view based on seeing the clothes in person as well as knowing that the respective design team has put in a great deal of the real deal into the clothes.  I'm atoning with this post though.

Is this even a cryptic introduction?  SURELY not!  Alright, enough of the dramatic theatrics.  I have already said that I'm in New York for the special Lanvin x H&M show extravagangza last night so this post is all of that and a bit more.  Alber Elbaz and his team customised pieces from the collection, both mens and womenswear for a one-off catwalk show, which was then followed by fashion folk scrabbling around holding cards like ration books and begging to go down into the pop-up store where they were the first to get their mitts on the collection.  I'm guessing journos probably won't dwell too much on the latter part but I'm not gonna lie, there was some vicious activity there and I can only think that the launch to the public in the stores may be ten times worse. 

But let's get the chronology right here.  Let's start off with the warm and fuzzy feeling of as I slinked (or in my head, I slinked…) into the sumptuous Pierre Hotel with champers and caviar (and err…egg finger sarnies?) being offered at every instance, under the twinkle of chandeliers and painted blue skies of the ceiling.  Lanvin's French maids (the very ones in the video, whose outfits I think need to go into production in some way…) and tux-ed up guys milling around along with the chirp of birds in gilded cages.  I expected no lower level of lushness just as Lanvin's mainline shows ply you with drinks and *gasp* chocolate truffles/cupcakes (the only Paris show to serve you food beforehand…), seducing you before you've even seen a dress come out. 

I say I was slinking because the matching 1940s cocktail pyjamas made its debut flapping about in the winds and in my head I'd LIKE to think I was slinking.  I'm not sure I succeeded in the slinking stakes but a few Upper East Side old ladies, the sort that Advanced Style captures so well were digging the outfit – mission accomplished. 

(With Eudon Choi pink trenchcoat and Lanvin shoes)

I then sneaked upstairs to backstage to find the throbbing epicentre of the show standing there ready to go.  It was sort of like a fashion show spoiler but at least I knew I was guaranteed a joyful affair of a show with Anna Dello Russo in the casting mix.  No po-faced, SERIOUS ness here.  If I didn't get utter glee at that show, I would have gone all stiff upper-lipped and huffy/puffy, decrying "It's an OUTRAGE!"  Fortunately, that wasn't the case… 

The idea of taking those pieces that will essentially be mass and fought over by hordes of people and then customising and up-styling them (courtesy of Katie Grand…) to the point where anybody walking in who hadn't seen any of the H&M x Lanvin images would be tricked into thinking it might have been a normal Lanvin show, affirms what Alber Elbaz said at the IHT Luxury conference last week: that to turn H&M into luxury would be news and that customers weren't buying expensive H&M with this collection but that they were getting Lanvin on the cheap.  The show did everything to assert that this was a collaboration that successfully married the extremes of the sky high prices and luxurious world of Lanvin with H&M whilst doing much to show a different facet to Lanvin.  Elbaz has spoken extensively about dressing 'women' – i.e. women of all shapes and sizes and also age.  The collection does still span those age and shape ranges but pumps youth in abundance which was reflected in a casting that saw Pixie Geldof, Julia Frakes as well as Anna Dello Russo all having a ball ont the catwalk.  Fun, fun and more fun was conveyed in exaggerated sashaying, hand gestures, expressions and struts that were not of the Lanvin norm but felt right in this intimate setting, making most people coo, swoon and later on shop like mental.  I also loved that the menswear collection manifested itself on women nodding to the fact that women will be picking up some of the mens pieces for themselves if ruffles and tulle aren't for them.  

Onto the latter half of the twinkly night… rather than focusing on the scrimmage that took place at the doors and staircase leading down to the pop-up store where guests could buy from the collection before anyone else, let's look at the pretty flowers instead.   Who needs to know about the hordes of people holding little cards with a shopping timeslot on it that everyone completely ignored as they charged into the shop when there was a charming cha-cha band playing.  Alright, I'll admit it wasn't GRABBY grabby but it was fairly intense given that people were fuelled by the theatrics of the show and seemed to have a fixed game plan going into the shop.  Here's me thinking fashion people were blase about high-low collaborations.  Nope… and a big thumbs up to the very patient shop staff who were accomodating with size/stock requests and errr …. credit card issues (one woman's card was refused and threw a pretty hilarious tantrum which was met with utter grace and patience by the cashier…).  I also witnessed some pretty strategic shopping as only seven items were allowed per guest and one person got round this with a string of credit cards to pay for over ¬£3k worth of stuff!

Alber was present, quite content with all the pandemonium happening around him…

In the antechamber leading to the store, there were computers set up with the auction microsite that went live at 8pm EST last night where the customised pieces from the catwalk show along with original sketches were up for auction, with all proceeds going to UNICEF.  The bids aren't sky-high yet but it ends on the 26th Nov so it will be interesting to see where the prices end up…

…I of course urge any of you who are money-bags to bid for this particular voluminous number which is supported by Style Bubble.  I'm not sure what 'supporting' entails but it does mean there's an extra big image of the dress here and it does please me that I'm supporting the dress where  I'm convinced there's a village of garden knomes living under the skirt…

I could have spent part of the night snapping semi-hilarious pictures of people coming up for air from the shop heaving with bags.  I've chosen one instead.  Mr Phil Oh of Streetpeeper said he was just going in for ten minutes for ONE pair of shoes.  This actually resulted in a good 40 minutes of shopping, three pairs of shoes, a shirt, jacket, two pairs of trousers and some goods for the girlfriends.  He didn't even really know what he had done until he caught a whiff of fresh crisp air…

I was actually restrained, thinking of the other half as well as myself and not really doing well with finding sizes.  Will assess purchases later but for now, I leave with the burning question of whether these pretty garment bags which went over dresses, tuxes and coats will be available to everyone?  Let's hope so as if you're like me, and you're a sucker for insignificant presentation touches such as this, then you'll surely leave the battleground of H&M come 20th/23rd November a happy soldier…