Like many designers at our own LFW, Sonia Rykiel took inspiration from the 70s for her SS2011 collection at Paris Fashion Week (if we’re honest we weren’t expecting anything different from the kooky brand.)
Dungarees in orange and pink, spotted and striped and with tapered and baggy legs, thumped down the catwalk.
Alongside these were knitted striped dresses, tops and shorts, as well as the must-have platforms, which of course were trademarks of this era.
Bur the brand also gave a smarter look sending out evening clad models in loose dresses with
kimono sleeves, or a bare-armed, low-cut knitted dress.
We heart H&M. It’s cheap(ish), kooky, and collaborates with top designers, most recently Jimmy Choo and Sonia Rykiel, creating cheaper ranges for us to get our eager paws on.
But just when we thought the store had done all it could to get us in it’s good books, it’s gone that step further, announcing a range of ethical ventures.
First up is it’s collection of floral and feminine fashion made from sustainable materials including organic and fair trade cotton. However, we hope this collection doesn’t backfire like it’s last ones where the chain was accused of using contaminated cotton for it’s organic ranges.
Ann-Sofie Johansson, Head of Design at H&M said: “We are extremely proud of our Garden Collection for women, which has organic and recycled materials in every single garment.
“The mix of floral prints and khaki classics works brilliantly for day to evening wear.”
Continuing the ethical traill the store will also launch its first ever range of skin care with certified organic ingredients. The range of everyday essentials includes shower gel, body scrub, body lotion, hand cream and lip balm, all of which are based on natural, organic ingredients and certified by Ecocert – Europe’s biggest certification body for organic and natural cosmetics.
We think a little bit of ethical spending may be in order here.
Anyone who said food isn’t fashionable should think again, because as well as creating clothes, designers are lending their names to their favourite foods.
The latest talent to do this is Karl Lagerfeld who has loaned his name to one of his favorite salads.
A restaurant spokesman told WWD that the designer gave his blessing for an Alaskan king crab salad served in Jean-Roch’s new La Gioia restaurant in Paris to be named after him.
Lagerfeld always orders the dish, now called the “Insalata Karl Lagerfeld”, which is said to include extra virgin olive oil from Sicily, black pepper, bread crusts, sea salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, when he eats at Roch’s sister La Gioia eatery in Saint-Tropez.
But Mr Lagerfeld isn’t the first to be honoured with a food title. Sonia Rykiel also has a club sandwich, “Le Club Rykiel,” named after her at Paris’ Café de Flore.
Wonder if we can have a Chanel coke with those too?
Have you ever wondered how highstreet stores get top designers on-board? Well, if rumours are to believed then perhaps it’s by copying their designs in the first place.
In an interview with Nylon Magazine Nathalie Rykiel, creative director at Sonia Rykiel, said she’d seen some very similar clothes to the brand’s designs in H&M, and said this was one of the main reasons she decided to team up with the Swedish chain store.
Are you asking if H&M has used my designs?,” she asked Nylon magazine in an interview. “Well, yes, of course! They copy me all the time! Finally I said, ‘Look, if you want your girls to wear Sonia Rykiel from H&M, let’s let them have the real thing!’”
And the result? Well we’re sure you’ve seen the naughty-but-nice lingerie line for H&M and we’re waiting with baited breath for the next installment of knitwear, which will be hitting H&M in the very near future.
We were excited about the first part of Sonia Rykiel’s collection for H&M, which came out last year, and managed to get our hands on enough lingerie to keep us going into 2011.
However we can’t wait for the second part, which focuses on knitwear and is out on the 20 February.
To taunt us that little bit H&M has put together a video , which shows how the collection was made and what we can expect to see on the shelves once we’ve finally pushed our way through to the front.
We’re already in love with the bright stripped jumper dresses and our sleeping bags are waiting patiently by the door.
If you haven’t already noticed we’ve got a lingerie theme going on today, apart from our Global Cool story, which is quite the opposite but, we’ll sure your agree is for a good cause.
So what better way to round up the theme with a sneak preview and video of Sonia Rykiel’s boudoir-inspired lingerie range for H&M.
We might have just got over the huge Jimmy Choo range for the highstreet store, but, as we all know fashion moves on as quickly as your other half when he spots the huge diamond ring you’re ogling at in the jewellers window.
The launch of this range was held last night at Paris’s Grand Palais for an extravagant show to unveil Sonia Rykiel’s the range. And what a launch it was. The fairytale themed show complete with a glittering Eiffel Tower, ferris wheel, swing set and cut-out trees strung with thousands of fairy lights, also featured Lily Cole, who held the reins of a giant moving horse head.
And it seems when the collection launches on Saturday, there may not be the mayhem we reported and timing complaints many of you told us about during the Jimmy Choo launch.
A spokesman for H&M told Grazia: “The Jimmy Choo launch was different because with accessories and shoes we gave people a specific area to try things on and limited numbers of product they could buy, but because this launch is a line of garments we don’t feel this is necessary, so there are no limits on what you can buy or try on.”
We can’t wait. View the video of last nights launch and click on the picture below for a sneak preview of the collection.
We love H&M, not only does it bring us affordable fashions but has also teamed up with a range of designers over the years to bring us some high end styles without all the hefty price tag. We’ve not stopped thinking about the Jimmy Choo collection, which will arrive in stores next month.
But something that has taken our mind off it slightly is a sneak peak for the highstreet stores collaboration with Sonia Rykiel. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know how excited we were when we announced her lingerie line for H&M last month so imagine what this has done to us.
Apparently the collection will include opaque black bras with flowers on the nipples. And see-through mesh panties with flowers on the bottom. Yes, we know, it’s a bit extreme but it fits the style bill as lingerie-as-outerwear will be the hottest trend next Spring.
H&M has worked with many designers over the past few years and we’re ashamed to say we’ve succumbed to buying at least one item from nearly each collection.
A while ago we told you the high street store was collaborating with Jimmy Choo and now it’s gone one step further, announcing that it will also be working with fashion designer, Sonia Rykiel.
The designer, best known for her love of all things Scottish and wooly, will be designing a range for winter 2009 and spring 2010. You can get your hands on the first part of the collection, which will consist of lingerie and accessories from December 5.
If you want something that will keep you that little bit warmer however, you’ll have to wait until the middle of February for the designer’s second collection, which will include a range of knitwear.
We wonder if it’s too early to start queuing from now.
New York and London are behind us, Milan is winding down, and the next stop is Paris! The fashion capital is getting ready to present its fall 2008 Pret-a-Porter collections, many of which are held at the Le Carrousel du Louvre, above.
The shows start Saturday, but we’re most looking forward to Christian Dior, who shows Monday along with Vivienne Westwood and Yohji Yamamoto. For the schedule of more highlights we’re looking forward to, keep reading.
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