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LIFESTYLE / photo gallery
Madonna's H&M apparel line gets mild welcome in N.Y.
Updated: 2007-09-19 15:32
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A new collection of clothes and accessories entitled "M by Madonna" is
displayed inside H&M in central London March 22, 2007. [REUTERS/Alessia
Pierdomenico]
Madonna on Thursday(March 21)?joined the parade of celebrities with their
own fashion lines, but the material girl who used to shock audiences with
her outrageous outfits kept to a mainstream tune.
Madonna's much-anticipated clothing line, "M by Madonna," went on sale at
the low-priced Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB's stores around the
world on Thursday.
Excited shoppers in New York, where Madonna began her career, queued up
about 30 minutes before the H&M store on Manhattan's ritzy Fifth Avenue
opened, in order to be among the first to see the diva's collection.
Within two hours some items, including belts and small purses, had sold
out, said one sales associate.
Another hot seller was a white, double-breasted trench coat, which
Madonna, who co-designed the line for the Swedish company, wears in the
campaign's advertisements.
"That white, silky coat is gorgeous, I think my daughter, who is 19,
would love it," said Mary Taylor, a public relations executive, who was
among the curious.
But many shoppers were not as enthusiastic about the range of styles,
expecting a clothing line designed by the singer, actress and author to
be more adventurous.
Madonna, who has been a taste-maker for more than two decades, has
shocked audiences throughout her career with daring styles that have
included lacy bras and crucifixes and a Jean-Paul Gaultier-designed cone
bustier.
"I was expecting the clothes to be a little more fashion-forward I have
to say, because she is such an icon and I heard it was based on her own
closet," said Daniela Maron, a fashion publicist combing the Fifth Ave.
store's racks for a cream-colored sequined mini dress donned by a
mannequin.
That dress, one of the standout pieces in the mostly solid, monochromatic
collection, sold out early, according to a sales associate.
"A lot of people came in, but as for buying, it's been half-and-half,"
said Juan Tinch, an H&M sales associate. "There have been a lot of
purchases but also a lot of returns."
H&M's LIMITED LINES
Hennes & Mauritz, among the first retailers to bring trendy fashions to
main street wallets, has had home-runs with its exclusive, limited lines
by heavy-hitters Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld and cult label
Viktor & Rolf.
The Viktor & Rolf and McCartney launches were "totally chaotic," Tinch
said. "This has been a little more calm and collected."
Lisa Sandberg, a U.S. spokeswoman for Hennes & Mauritz, whose chairman,
Stefan Persson, is the 17th-richest person in the world, said the
difference was because the collection is in all H&M stores with
womenswear, instead of just a few.
"What this means is that although it's a one-off collection, more H&M
customers will have the opportunity to find M by Madonna in their local
H&M store and should also be able to purchase a piece without being the
first shopper on line," Sandberg said in an e-mail.
But for Sara Axelsson, a New York-based lawyer who went to see Madonna's
line, the collection was not unique enough to justify a purchase.
"The Stella McCartney line was much more different than the usual H&M
stuff," Axelsson said.
Other clothing lines designed by fashionable celebrities, who are not
themselves designers, include Sarah Jessica Parker's line at Steve &
Barry's and model Kate Moss's line with the U.K. retailer Topshop.
"Obviously (celebrities) help enormously, whether it be if they're
fronting a product or have worn it, but of course it takes away from the
cachet level," said Maron, the publicist, about the trend of low-priced
retailers selling collections designed by icons.
"But I'm definitely buying something, even if I never wear it," Maron
said. "Just to have it. Anything for Madonna."
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