Images from Vogue Nippon via fashionologie.
For months, fashion blogs have fluttered about the Comme des Garcons for H&M diffusion line, and now it’s finally on sale. Even though I liked some of the pieces, I’m most impressed with H&M’s coinciding their Harajuku store opening with the CDG line’s debut. Even getting Rei Kawakubo to sign on was something of a coup for the high street chain; Comme des Garcons is well-respected by fashion insiders and known for its avant-garde (read: uncommercial) aesthetic. H&M’s willingness to work with Kawakubo (and Kawakubo’s willingness to work with them) significantly ups the chain’s fashion cred.
Official H&M press photos, see more here & here.
In terms of sales, though, it hasn’t been the most successful H&M designer collection. Aside from certain hard-to-wear designs like drop crotch pants, the line’s fighting a bad economy and shoppers fatigued by a glut of hi-lo designer collaborations. Still, many pieces sold out within hours, like the deconstructed jackets & the gothic-loli inspired coat, above. Even the polka dot tops, the line’s most wearable & imitable feature, are selling for three times their original price on eBay.
Which is madness, considering how many vintage & budget polka dot pieces are out there. Three to consider:
From left to right: Vintage Pencil Dot Skirt, $9.00, Tontubtim; Izzy Dot Cardigan, $49.95 Delia’s; Polka Dot Secretary Shirt, $21.00, JessJamesJake.