Much similar to my lengthy wish list of unattainable designer clothes, the list of H&M designer collaborations has exceeded itself recently, with the release of the lookbook for their next designer campaign.
After an entire year since Maison Martin Margiela graced our favorite Swedish retailers stores, with a delectable collection of cut-price imitations of his high-fashion designs, we are being once again spoilt, by what I would say is their best choice of collaboration yet (and just in time for Christmas too!).
None other than 46 year old, French designer Isabel Marant. The eagerly anticipated collection hits over 250 H&M stores, worldwide on November 14th, but as if they were expecting us to wait that long! Fortunately, God blessed us all, in the form of a Fashion mole releasing the lookbook for the collection- and what a commendable performance it is.
Marant ever so faithfully presents us with an affordable range, of almost literal translations of her high end counterpart pieces which made her a fixture at Paris fashion week for several seasons. Slouchy yet chic cuts reflect her Parisian boho aesthetic perfectly, all the while maintaining the image that the clothes are as expensive as Marant's high fashion label. Trousers feature lacing and mid-leg pattern breaks. This teamed with flatteringly cropped bottoms, works well in drawing attention away from the thighs (which is never a bad thing). Rich in textures, wool, silk and leather are particularly in the spotlight, and the tactile diversity is endless with the use of fringing on ankle boots, embellished jackets and Peruvian style patterns filling the gaps in between.
  
Coats and jumpers are the perfect middle between comfortably feminine and ‘boyfriend fit’ infusing the collection with the ‘cool’ attitude and easiness of the personality of the designer herself.
Interestingly, this is Marant’s debut for menswear, claiming that it was an obvious choice for her to make, following the requests from a number of her fashion conscious acquaintances.
The campaign itself boasts an impressive cast of top models, including Saskia de Brauw, Lou Doillon, Alex Wek and Milla Jovovich, amongst others. As if that weren't enough to fill our boots, a feature film has been released to take us behind the scenes of the campaign shoot, and also hear what Marant herself has to say about the exciting collab. She willingly asserts, “It made sense for me to do this collection for the people who love me; they send me letters telling me how much they love my clothes.” Whoever you may be, sending letters, we salute you. Maybe we can work on Chanel or Givenchy next?
