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A mob of fashion-frenzied females swarmed the H&M boutique in Bahrain City Centre early to grab a garment (or two) as Marni mania gripped the kingdom.
H&M, a Swedish clothing retailer, has collaborated with a number of designers such as Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Jimmy Choo but no-one could have imagined the hysteria its latest collaboration with the Italian designer would have created.
Shoppers started queuing at 6am and some savvy sleep-lovers even sent their maids – much to the frustration of many of the early-risers – to grab bundles of the new collection which went on sale at 8am last Thursday morning.
As the doors opened, shoppers stampeded into the store and began to raid every rail and shelf in sight. It truly was a first-come-first-serve experience as women grabbed whatever they could of the 800 items on sale and threw them into their shopping bags in a rush to the till.
Desperate designer-label lovers even ran to the window displays and pleaded with members of staff for items to be removed off the mannequins. Some, however, didn’t waste any time and decided to take matters into their own hands by stripping the clothes free.
The Marni madness ended as quickly as it began with the majority of items appearing to fly off the rails in less than 10 minutes.
At 8.15am most Marni pieces had vanished apart from a few boxes of accessories stacked up behind the counters.
Astonishingly, shortly afterwards the in-store trading began. Women carrying already paid for items huddled together in corners of the store asking who had what as some really didn’t appear to know what they had picked up.
Customer Lulu Beyhum Anabtawi, from Manama, said: “All sizes and shapes were dragged into the changing room by greedy hands and finally the store turned into a trading bazaar with women calling out the sizes that they needed and wanted to trade.
“I walked in near the end of one trading session and, like a vulture, picked up the last strands of Marni. It brought out an animal instinct in me. What a master plan!
“From the eyes of a girl who mostly gets bored shopping, very unusual I know, and had no clue who Marni was until the launch, this process of heightened awareness for shopping excited the bejeezus out of me!
“I walked out of H&M with my Marni skirt feeling as though I had achieved something that day, amongst other things, a new-found taste for fashion and a craving for a squabble for the latest trend! Great event by H&M!”
Not everyone was smiling. Maha Al Qassab, 22, and her sister Hala, 34, from Saar, were huge Marni fans and missed out on some of their hoped-for choices. Hala said: “We were waiting in line for 45 minutes and when the doors opened we ended up at the back as people barged infront of us.
“Some people just bought stuff to sell later which is unfair to true Marni fans like us. Maha and I were so excited when we heard Marni was coming to H&M. We didn’t just randomly shop. We looked online to see the items on sale, knew the prices and where they would roughly be in the store. Then we came extra early to wait at the front of the queue so we could get our chance but people started rushing from the back and we got pushed aside.
“We have shopped in big fashion stores all over and have never encountered anything like this. It particularly aggravated us to see nannies come in and grab stuff off the hangers and shelves to take home to their madams to wear. They don’t even know if the stuff would fit or look good.
“If it doesn’t then they will either toss it aside or take it back for a refund. That is really not fair on others. Instead of sending out your nanny you should be here standing in line with the rest of us! We couldn’t even fight for what we wanted because there wasn’t anything left by the time we got in.”
However, some lucky women managed to get a sneak preview of the range and pick their pieces after winning an on-line competition.
Fashion bloggers Andrea Antal, 30, of glowbahrain.wordpress.com together with sister bloggers Maha Al Mulla, 24, and Amal, 21, of adayinthesandbox.blogspot.com were invited by H&M for creating the ‘most buzz’ online over the launch.
Andrea, a membership manager at the Capital Club, said: “The collection is really dreamy and whimsical. I think it combines a lot of edge with classic fashion. It was very much anticipated in Bahrain. They say it surpassed the launch of the earlier Versace collaboration so it was very exciting.
“I arrived with the other winners and there was already a gigantic line outside the store as we went in to look around. We were able to buy whatever we wanted in peace. People standing outside were completely on edge thinking that we were going to buy everything!
“As soon as the clock struck 8am they just stormed the store and started ripping things off of mannequins and all the hangers and quite literally the store was bare within minutes.
“I think everyone was completely shocked. It was really overwhelming but clearly everyone seems to love Marni.”
Maha, an accountant, from Riffa, said: “The collection as a whole was great, but I was more interested in the accessories and that’s what my sister Amal and I came for.
“We came for the collars, the earrings and the bracelets. The day was crazier than at the Versace launch. I think people were more prepared for this shopping experience than the last time and believe me it’s only going to get better from here.”
Another shopper delighted with her new-buys was Chantelle Jaberi, 25, a fashion co-ordinator from Manama, who said: “I love Marni’s accessories and mod designs. It is very unique.
“When the doors opened it was absolutely crazy. I have seen movies about stuff like this but I had never been involved in it before.
“People were grabbing anything because they were nervous and just wanted something from Marni. I would definitely go through this again because I love the concept of H&M bringing in collections from different well-known designers at affordable prices. I will queue up because it is worth it in the end.”
H&M has outlets in Bahrain City Centre and Seef Mall and has been brought to the kingdom under the umbrella of M.H. Alshaya Co, the retail arm of the Alshaya Group which was founded in Kuwait in 1890.
