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FASHION followers in the kingdom are counting down the days to the launch of the collection featuring the latest H&M star collaboration in Bahrain City Centre mall.
The Swedish retailer has teamed up with French fashion house Maison Martin Margiela, recognised by industry analysts as one of the most important and influential fashion houses of the past three decades.
"I am so excited by this collaboration which will give fashion lovers around the world the chance to wear special pieces by Maison Martin Margiela. This collaboration will be a great and memorable fashion moment," Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor at H&M, told GulfWeekly.
"We believe our customers will really appreciate this collection. The collection is aimed at everyone who loves great clothes. Maison Martin Margiela is a brand that can be worn by everyone, regardless of their knowledge of fashion. Their clothing is intelligent, and also wearable. It’s full of classic pieces you will love for years to come."
Each garment features a special label stating from which season it originated, meaning that each piece acts like an archive of important moments from history. The garments chosen for re-edition were carefully selected so that the collection also consists of a complete wardrobe to wear this winter.
Stars of the world of entertainment including Julianne Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mena Suvari, Kanye West, Helena Christensen, Selma Blair, Alan Cumming and Chase Crawford were among the guests at a recent party held in New York to celebrate the partnership.
Guests were able to discover the collection in dance performances by noted choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and through specially-commissioned art installations held across many floors of 5 Beekman Street, a historical building in the city’s financial district.
"Maison Martin Margiela believes in showing its work outside of the traditional context. This mix of installation and performance captures the spirit of the house, and allowed the artists to interpret the collaboration collection in ways they saw fit," a spokesman for the fashion house said.
The collection with H&M is a series of re-editions of Maison Martin Margiela garments and accessories described as ‘key pieces’ from various seasons.
For women there are masculine shapes adjusted to the female body with the narrow shouldered jacket or the adjusted biker jacket, oversized clothing is represented with the oversized pea coat and blazer, as well as the adult-sized Dolly cardigan.
The processes of tailoring are explored with the pattern cut jacket; the ambiguity of trompe l’oeil is found in the trompe l’oeil evening dress, the body with integrated bra, and the invisible wedge pump.
And then there are garments which have undergone transformation, such as the car seat cover dress, the duvet coat, the opened-up trouser skirt, the sock sweater, as well as accessories such as the candy clutch and the glove purse.
In menswear, there are garments such as the reversed shearling coat from Autumn-Winter 1998, the fusion of a single and a double-breasted jacket from Spring-Summer 2004, the hand-painted jeans from Spring-Summer 2009, the bow tie shirt from Autumn-Winter 2002, and the re-assembled Fair Isle sweater from Autumn-Winter 2004. There are also accessories such as the hand-painted loafers and boots and a mirror ball scarf.
"This unique opportunity to work with H&M will allow us to create something special for all. The re-editions enable Maison Martin Margiela to present its creative output in an entirely new way," the design team added.
It certainly impressed the partying celebrities, and one even admitted joining the queues outside her nearest H&M store whenever a new collaboration was launched.
"It’s an amazing collaboration! Margiela is a beautiful brand – arty, iconoclastic and always edgy. And the quality is always amazing with H&M. Fashion is great because it’s an expression of who you are", said Emmy Award-winning actress Julianne Moore.
"It’s incredible, so exciting to celebrate one of my favourite designers. They are mysterious and compelling and I’ve been a great fan of Margiela for many years. H&M, well, look at the lines of men and women lined up! It’s a great opportunity for people to have access to great designers. It makes luxury available to everyone. It’s very democratic and I’m all for it", added actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
"I’m a huge fan of Margiela and I love H&M – it’s a great collaboration. I never get surprised by H&M’s choices, every designer they pick I’m interested in. I’m always standing in the queue with my mother in the early mornings. I’ve been a fan of Margiela since the start," revealed Danish fashion model Helena Christensen.
H&M has proved to be one of the major ‘pulling power’ stores at Bahrain City Centre and was brought to the kingdom under the umbrella of M.H. Alshaya Co. There are two shops in the mall, one offering the family range, the other focusing on the young, alongside an outlet at Seef Mall.
M.H. Alshaya Co is the retail business of the Alshaya Group, which was founded in Kuwait in 1890. In addition to its retail operations, the group is active in a number of other sectors.
H&M’s collaborations with top designers such as Marni, Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Jimmy Choo often create hysteria with shoppers queuing as early as 5am to secure pieces, as reported in GulfWeekly.
The Maison Martin Margiela with H&M collection will be launched on November 15.
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THE entire collection represents an overview of Maison Martin Margiela’s creative approach.
Colours: Shades of white, shades of black, shades of red, nudes and silver.
Shape & volume: Masculine shapes are adjusted to frame the female body.
Oversized: Pieces of the masculine and feminine wardrobe are presented in oversized versions of themselves.
(Women) Pea coat, trousers, enlarged watch frame bracelet and supersized toy clothing such as the dolly cardigan.
(Men) Oversized butt bag, enlarged child’s toy sweater.
Process of tailoring: Traditional finishings and tailoring procedures are visible.
Ambiguity: Conveyed through the use of trompe l’oeil.
(Women) trompe l’oeil day dress, body with integrated bra, invisible wedge pump.
(Men) Shirt trompe l’oeil sweater, confetti trompe l’oeil T-shirt, guitar cover weekend bag.
Transformation: This occurs in different ways, offering a new use and shape to otherwise typical objects and materials.
(Women) Duvet coat, the car seat cover dress, the candy clutch, glove coin purse.
(Men) Painted jeans, clothing made of belts.
(Women) Fusion of two dresses, sock sweater.
(Men) Fusion of several car coats, supporter’s scarves sweater.
