Last week, my fabulous friend Lucie kindly invited me to the Matthew Williamson for H&M preview. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend, but she has written a wee round up of the night. To read more of her fantastic fashion writing, visit her Mode Pass page.
Despite nearly half a decade of collaborations between H&M and star designers, I’ve always refused to wake-up early on the launch day and queue for hours to find out that the dress I wanted was already sold out. On Wednesday evening, the H&M flagship store on Regent Street organised a preview of its collaboration with Matthew Williamson, and I managed to get invitations. For me, invites (wrongly) mean no waiting, so I turned up at 6:30 pm on the dot, with a friend, to see a line of people wrapped round the block.
Rather than queuing, we decided to first go to Liberty and check out the current Matthew Williamson collection. 45 min later, the queue was just going round Banana Republic so we decided to join. Which is when we saw him, bright-blue trousers, white tee and navy blazer, Matthew Williamson was talking to his fans. He signed autographs, let security take his pictures with some girls, apologised for the queue and generally thanked everyone for coming. He was really nice.
Meanwhile, a quick chat with a member of security revealed that the collection was (already) victim of its success, and that the length of the queue was due to the fact that nearly everyone with an invite turned up. 1000 invites for two sent, do that maths, it’s a lot of people.
Once inside, there was bubbly and nibbles for everyone and music by the Voguettes in an absolutely packed H&M floor. When we got in at 7:45 pm, the key pieces such as the peacock dress, the green and blue handbag, the studded belts and the printed scarf were already sold out. Many items were only left in extreme sizes. As I write this, two hours before the actual launch, the “Matthew Williamson H&M” search on Ebay already counts 27 results. A sales assistant assured us that they were going to get another delivery in this morning, so if you are planning on going, all is not lost.
I am not surprised. I went to check out the collection mid afternoon the day it was released in the States and everything was sold out, save some basic tees, and all the clothes on the mannequins were on hold for multiple people!
wow!Fantastic! He is an amazing designer, I love his bright colors and I am so sure it is already a huge success!Great post!Kisses and hugs,Kira
Hi there-many congrats on the new job my dear and the H&M collection is just fab, especially if you can grab a piece, LOL!!
Love this collection!!!xoxolizzyummyfashion.blogspot.com
How fabulous! Lucky you!xoxox,CC
I popped into Regent Street H&M on the Friday just for a peek, and there were very few items left! It's Williamson mania, but understandably so x
I have yet to check out the collection! I know shameful! BUT CONGRATS on the new job!!! 😉 Give us details when you can!
love the clothes … and congrats on the new job! x
Wow I had no idea it was that crazy! Well done on the new job!! I hope it was what you wanted!
That looks like it would’ve been so fun to go to! Bummer you couldn’t go, but thanks for posting this review!-Ashleyhttp://breakfastatsaks.blogspot.com
How wonderfully fabulous. I always find the risk of the collaborations with high street stores is that 1) It sells out quickly, or there is a huuuge queue 2) You may have to wait a while before wearing the fabulous pieces, because everyone who managed to buy one is going to rock them to tatters as soon as they get it, and you don’t want to be wearing the same as everyone else!
I want the blue blazer!!!! *screams
I hope your new job and move is going well, sorry to hear you have no internet, hope you'll be back soon! And thanks for your comment, dear! <3xoxo,S-C
you saw him……………………………jealous.we don't even have an h&m here..double jealous.xx-LJ from SOS!
Heyhey!Congrats on the new job! Love this collection so much! Can’t wait!x
oh wow! wish we had that where i am 🙁
Heyhey!COngrats on your new job! And I love this collection! Can’t wait!x
Oh my. I would have loved to get some pieces, but with the ebay prices being even bigger than the originals there’s no sense. I was abroad in a small town on my orcestra’s concert trip and missed all -store, internet -all.juliet xxx
Good luck at your new job!!
I wish there was an H&M near me that carried that line! I actually went early that day to the H&M nearby and they told me the nearest H&M that carried it was Atlanta! I live in DC! WTF!
Good luck with the new job and the move. Hope to get in touch soon.Take care.
i loooove matthew williamson, actually i only really liked him after his fw09 collection–previously i found him too loud, with all teh fringing and feathers and beading. but i really think hes got the rockchick thing down pat, and wot a great reasonable collection for H&M! :)sorry about the lack of connectivity haha. all will be well soon!!!added u to my list BTW, we've been commenting back and forth for so long 🙂 shall we exchange?cheers!andrea xxooxxLife In Technicolor
I'm not sure that I liked his collection for H&M!! its to hard to wear! haha.. Really nice blog by the way really nice!
How exciting! It’s always great to hear that a designer is down to earth. It makes me like them that much more!Congrats on the new job and the move! You’ll have to fill us all in =)
I was hesitant about his collection but I have really grown to like it!XOXOXOLibbyhttp://fashionconfectionairy.weebly.com