It has now become the norm for renowned designers to collaborate with high street brands to make their fashion more accessible to a wider audience, but is this a good thing? The latest collaboration to ignite the excitement-mill is Marni for H&M.
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Consuelo Castiglioni, the label’s founder and creative director said: ‘It is great to speak to a wider audience and in particular to the younger generations.’ She added: ‘I wanted to create a true Marni wardrobe by revisiting all our favorite pieces in signature fabrics and prints. As always, I love juxtaposing prints and colours, mixing modern tribal with Bauhaus graphic adding sporty utilitarian elements.’
Don’t get me wrong, I think these types of collaborations are great for a designer to reach a wider audience however, it often results in the design aesthetic and quality of garment being watered-down. Take for instance Lanvin for H&M – the full-price garments are usually made out of a silk mix fabric whereas the H&M collection used virtually all synthetic fabrics. Designer garments are not just about the name or label, but the luxuriousness and feel of the item. On top of this, it is hard to achieve the signature structural ruffles achieved by using silk gazar when using cheaper fabrics.
The designers are not always happy with the collaborations either. Back in November 2004 H&M requested a formal apology from Karl Lagerfeld after he complained about his designs being produced in larger sizes, he claimed he had created them for “slim, slender people”.
Yet, these collaborations still draw the crowds with people queueing the night before to get the best spot. H&M often put limits on the quantity of the designs that can be purchased – given this and the huge demand, garments often appear on eBay hours later for double or even triple the original price. Nevertheless, once the excitement has died down, the designs can no longer be considered an investment as they sell on eBay for 50-75% the price. So are these collaborations all they are hyped up to be?
11 Comments
I agree with this statement “Designer garments are not just about the name or label, but the luxuriousness and feel of the item.”
Although i will keep looking for H&M designers collection because we can still find something gorgeous there!
http://hotspotemily.blogspot.com/
Interesting. I hadn’t ever really thought about this before. But I have seen Target do this a lot. I think the reason I love vintage so much is because you can find those higher quality fabrics without sacrificing an arm and a leg.
http://www.thequirkypoet.blogspot.com
Thanks for your comment and welcome to the blog. I agree about vintage, I have bought some fantastic vintage pieces that are of amazing quality and don’t need to cost the earth! – WSM.
I’ve always loved the use of print and colour in Marni style. I also think that, yes, sometimes there is so much hype built into collaborations in general! Having worked in manufacturing in the past, I do believe quality is important, however when people want very affordable garments produced, should they really expect it to be made out of 100% silk, cashmere, etc? Luxe garments typically own their rightful genre … many good points in this post!
Thanks for your comment and welcome to the blog. You make a good point but I still think that quality and high-end designers are inherently linked and to use produce lesser-quality garments for collaborations can slightly degrade their reputation, yet it is made more accessible for everyone – WSM.
I’ve never been one to get excited about designer collabs. I think it’s great for the brand, especially less established lines, to get their name out there and get the money to fund their more luxe offerings but at the end of the day the quality is what matters the most.
Thanks for the comment and welcome to the blog. Glad you agree with the points I made! – WSM.
I completely agree! To me, owning a luxury garment should be a rare treat, not something one can get at their local Target. While I understand why they are so popular, I wish these collaborations would sort of end.
Thanks for sharing!!
http://woodstockwardrobe.com/
I just wrote a similar post to this too! Looks like great minds think alike (:
I personally think that high-low designer tieups are great, but I feel that H&M is monopolizing this market because of their wide distribution and mass resources, to the point that the other highstreet retailers might lose out whenever they release a new tieup collection.
Will make sure I check out your article too. Thanks for the comment – WSM.
Personally I’m really enjoying the collaborations. I love Marni and even have one of their jackets (It’s a hand-me-down from a wealthier friend). If I can get my hands on one of their prints at H&M I definitely will try!
I think the collaborations help the design firm by creating a buzz and bringing in customers that might never have even heard of the line before. I’m sure both H&M and Marni thought long and hard before doing a collaboration and I doubt either company would do something that would hurt their brand in the long run. So even though it seems like only H&M and it’s customers are benefitting from the program, I wouldn’t be surprised if Marni also saw an upswing in their orders for their high end line in the future.
Obviously some collaborations are more successful than others. I have a Missoni for Target dress and I love it. The quality isn’t that bad really. It is lined! And their iconic zig zag knit works as well in a cheap fabric as it does in an expensive one.
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