Swedish fashion retailer H&M has shared a first look at its upcoming collaboration with British designer Stella McCartney. The collection hits the market on May 7th, around 20 years after the first partnership.
In 2005, the collaboration was H&M’s second design collaboration ever. It followed the sell-out success of the first collection with Karl Lagerfeld. McCartney’s original collection with the retailer focused on workwear classics and wearable separates. This time the collection highlights the designer and activist’s 25-year design history. The focus is on recycled materials and the innovative use of raw materials for coated materials. This includes industrial corn, recycled vegetable oil and certified organic cotton and wool.
The collection includes women’s fashion, bags, shoes and jewelry and “combines past and present”. It combines popular current signatures such as oversized shirts, trench coats and precise tailoring with playful, iconic pieces from McCartney’s early archive. These include jeweled prints and slogan tops.
“I see this collection as a journey through my fashion history. It is a real mix of current classics and some of my old favorites, showing my first steps in fashion and the evolution of my signature. It is playful, strong, sparkling, joyful and sophisticated,” commented McCartney on the collaboration.
One of the most important pieces in the ready-to-wear collection is a classic trench coat in light beige-khaki made from 100 percent ROC-certified cotton. This means that farms must restore soil fertility and biodiversity and not use artificial pesticides and fertilizers. There’s also a semi-sheer lace mini dress with crystal-like beads made from 80 percent recycled glass; matching organic cotton pajama-style pants and shirts; and a triangle bra with glass beads made from 80 percent recycled glass.
Other items include rib-knit dresses and tops with McCartney’s signature Falabella chain at the neckline, a long white dress with a cape-like sleeve, sparkling party outfits, separates and jeans, and mesh dresses and tops with an archival cherry print.
There’s also a cropped bomber jacket with a smocked cuff detail in a snakeskin-inspired print and finish. The coated material is partly made from recycled vegetable oils and agricultural crops such as straw.
The line also includes casual pieces, including hoodies and T-shirts decorated with Stella’s name or an airbrushed white horse. This is a nod to the tongue-in-cheek aesthetic and vibrancy of McCartney’s celebrated years as a designer in Paris in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
There’s even a mini white T-shirt with studs spelling out ‘Rock Royalty’. This provides a dose of nostalgia and pays homage to a style McCartney himself wore to the 1999 Met Gala.
Stella McCartney accessories are the focus of the collaboration with H&M
In addition to the clothing, the accessories include six bags. The selection ranges from small shoulder bags with the brand’s logo to giant totes with McCartney’s famous spherical logo to a timeless chocolate-colored bag with a chain detail strap. Some pieces feature McCartney’s signature Falabella chain. These include necklaces and earrings made from recycled metal in mixed tones; animal print ballet flats; white slingback pumps with McCartney’s signature sculptural curved heels; and loafers with chain details on the front.
For a playful touch, the collection also includes keychains, one in an eye-catching cherry-shaped resin design and another with red rubber Stella lettering. There are also striking, GOTS-certified silk scarves that feature the collection’s most important cherry and horse prints and motifs.
“Stella has always had a bold vision for fashion, and this collection traces her journey from a young, rule-breaking voice to a master of timeless design,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative consultant and head of womenswear design at H&M. “Every single piece in the collection is desirable and tells a unique and bold story.”
Prices for the clothing range from 29.99 euros for a white bodysuit with ‘Stella’ branding to 299 euros for the oversize short coat made of gray mottled, RWS-certified wool.
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