Versace frenzy at H&M

Every other woman I saw on Oxford Street yesterday had something in common, they were all carrying the same bag. Not just any bag of course, a carrier bag, perhaps the hottest carrier bag in town, a special edition Versace for H&M bag I’ll have you know. Fans queued for hours; the first person in the queue had been perched outside the Regent Street flagship store since 4.45pm on Wednesday, for the Thursday opening.

Miss Donatella Versace herself was in town to open up the collection, and greeted fans arriving on the pink carpet in a pink leather dress taken from the collection, which retails for £199, a snippet of the cost of a usual Versace mainline number which would set you back around 50 times that price.

The high end Italian label is the latest to collaborate with the Swedish high street chain, following in the footsteps of Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Matthew Williamson, Sonia Rykiel and most recently Lanvin. The partnership almost didn’t happen, as Versace was approached by H&M two years ago to collaborate but initially refused.  Giving her reason for her decision at the time Donatella said, “I wanted to work to stabilise the main collection everywhere in the world. We were strong in most places, but other places we had to work”.

The Fashion frenzy was widespread, as shoppers in Dubai waited outside the store from 5am, with the entire collection selling out in just 30 minutes!

The autumn/winter collection designed by Donatella launched yesterday will now be available in 300 stores worldwide. H&M also confirmed that they will work with Versace on a pre-spring line, which will be available in stores from January 2012.

The collection features a lot of vivid colors, exuberant prints and mega doses of leather. Much like the style Versace was famous for in the 90’s. There are also slinky dresses, dramatic gowns, studded leather frocks, costume jewellery and sharp tailored suits and tuxedos for men. Many men also joined the women in the queues yesterday keen to snap up bargains starting from £80. Apart from the ready-to-wear pieces, there is also a small selection of home accessories available in selected stores.

Millions of online shoppers also took to the website, crashing the site. The website is still down greeting shoppers with the message, ‘We are experiencing large numbers of visitors at the moment. Please try again later’. It has been reported this week that Tom Ford will be the next designer in line to create a collection in 2012.

Siobhan Copland