14 years of H&M designer collaborations
In November 2004, Karl Lagerfeld teamed up with fashion powerhouse H&M for the first time to sell price-accessible versions of his designs.
The unlikely pairing between the Chanel frontman and high-street retailer has inspired other designers and fashion mavens over the past 14 years to design collaborations of their own with H&M.
From Jimmy Choo and Versace to Stella McCartney and Balmain, H&M has partnered with 19 different major designers to bring their pieces to the masses.
This year, starting on November 8, shoppers will have a chance to shop their newest collab with Italian fashion house Moschino. In spirit of the occasion, we decided to take a look back at 14 years of H&M X collaborations.
2004-2006
Karl Lagerfeld was H&M's inaugural collaborator. When his collection launched in 2004, many stores sold out within the opening hour.
H&M offered the first 200 customers a free breakfast and limited edition t-shirt for the launch.
The Chanel creative director was allegedly upset by the insufficient quantity of products H&M supplied.
He later said, "Some bought 20 or 30 items in three seconds, funny, right?"
Stella McCartney was allegedly paid $1 million for her H&M collaboration.
The designer donated 25% of the proceeds from the sale of organic cotton t-shirts to various animal welfare charities.
When the Dutch design duo Viktor&Rolf collaborated with H&M in 2006, they created the very first wedding dress in the history of the Swedish retailer.
The collaboration sparked so much excitement among shoppers that H&M employees needed bodyguards to accompany them when they restocked merchandise.
In the past, scalpers have made quite the pretty penny from reselling their H&M designer finds.
According to Business Insider, the average price of an item from the Balmain x H&M collection was later found on eBay for 1.5x to 3x the retail price. On the online marketplace Tradesy, items sold for close to double their retail value. In comparison, pieces from the Alexander Wang x H&M collection went for 3x to 5x the retail price when found online.
In an attempt to govern shoppers, H&M limits each person to just two of each item. Although, for the devout shoppers who camp outside days in advance, this could still mean their loot is a couple of hundred items large.
2007-2009
It took just three minutes for the Roberto Cavalli x H&M collection to sell out in the London, UK flagship store.
The 2008 Comme des Garçons x H&M collection was first released in Tokyo before the rest of the world got their hands on the pieces.
Comme des Garçons fragrance was so popular at the time that H&M even released their own unisex fragrance with the Japanese fashion label.
Matthew Williamson x H&M marked the first time a designer collaboration was available in all H&M stores.
The British designer also released his first men's collection with the fashion retailer.
2009-2012
Jimmy Choo was the retail giant's first foray into an accessories collaboration.
The French fashion designer designed two separate fashion collections for H&M. The first was a lingerie line in 2009 followed by a colourful knitwear collection for women and girls in 2010.
Five of the original signed sketches from designer Albert Elbaz were auctioned off following the release of the collection, with proceeds going towards UNICEF.
A month after the collection went live, one click-happy eBay buyer spent nearly $1,600 on a Lanvin x H&M t-shirt.
The 2011 Versace collaboration was the first of which to include home accessories in the collection.
Donatella Versace herself came to London's Regent Street store on opening day to greet fans of her designs.
Oscar-winning director Sofia Coppola directed the promotional video for the Italian luxury label's collaboration with H&M.
It took only 10 minutes after the first items were sold in store for them to appear on eBay for double the price.
The H&M collaboration with the highest average cost was none other than Maison Martin Margiela‘s 2012 collection (of which you can still buy, pre-owned, on Stylight).
2012-2014
H&M was Anna Dello Russo's first foray into fashion design. Russo's day job is instead acting as creative consultant and editor-at-large for Vogue Japan.
The designer reinterpreted pieces from past collections to include in his H&M collaboration. Each garment included an indicator detailing the collection in which the design first appeared.
Isabel Marant's 2013 H&M collection was the first time the French fashion house included menswear in their repertoire.
Alexander Wang is both the youngest and the first American fashion designer to do a collaboration with H&M. Wang had only just graduated from university when H&M launched their first designer collaboration in 2004.
2015-2017
Kenzo designer Humberto Leon said the H&M collaboration, "...Is a giant fusion of archival Kenzo pieces from the 70s and our own archives at the brand, dating back the last five years."
Turkish-Canadian fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu told reporters, "ERDEM x H&M is full of totally new pieces that I have been looking for since I started my label in 2005. I have my own personal memories, my childhood, and my family, and that inspire me in pop culture."
The H&M collaboration marked the first time the designer created menswear pieces.
2018: Moschino x H&M
“I want them to make memories of the pieces, so that in 2028 or 2038, when they get the stuff out, they’ll think, ‘Oh, that’s great. That’s so typical 2018!” Moschino designer Jeremy Scott told reporters.
