Choosing Choo
Monday, November 9 at 12:00 p.m. marked a great day in history: It was the grand re-opening of the H&M Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City. As LadyLUX had reported earlier, with a story on September 12, Jimmy Choo, the shoemaker of all shoemakers, has fashioned a special collection for the Swedish retailer, entitled “Jimmy Choo for H&M.” Consisting of shoes, handbags, accessories, as well as clothing, the line will officially launch in stores this Saturday, November 14.
As all big fashion events in New York are wont to do, the powers and PR that be behind Jimmy et al. are inviting the relevant editors and fashion cognoscenti to a VIP event this evening to preview the collection – and for free champagne of course (always a plus!). Having earned its reputation as the global sweetspot of hot fashion at cool prices, H&M now boasts 1,800 stores in 34 markets worldwide after 62 years in business (the company was established in Sweden in 1947).
When the collection officially hits over the weekend, H&M expects a similar nuttiness that marked the store’s debut in 2000; people were planted cheek to jowl covering the very broad Fifth Avenue sidewalk, wallets akimbo, ready to aim and fire their plastic at the latest Calvin or Jean-Paul lookalike. This kind of Must-Have-It-Mania hadn’t been seen since the arrival of the clog to these shores. But hey, everything has its heyday.
Surely the line will start forming in the wee hours of the morning, not necessarily something to disregard in this shaky retail environment. Margareta van den Bosch, the Creative Advisor to H&M, expressed her love for Jimmy Choo’s shoes and handbags, and her bliss over the collaboration: “It’s a joy to be able to offer top end shoes and bags of excellent quality to our customers,” she said in the September 19 post.
Lucky shoppers not only got to see a new and improved Hennes & Mauritz (what the H and the M stand for)—rebuilt with all new interior and fixtures, for an even more mod look—the first 300 shoppers in line received H&M’s Access to Fashion gift pass, a value of anywhere from $10-$300. Fantastic giveaways and in-store offers came their way too to entice them back every day this week.
For those who just can’t get enough of such little prices and such big buys, the store will be there to satisfy one’s retail desires. open Saturday, November 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday, November 15 from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., closing on Friday, the 13th in between—surely not out of superstition, but to restock all the great J.C. merch that will absolutely fly off the shelves. H&M, 640 Fifth Avenue at 51st Street, New York, NY 10019, 212-489-0390.
—CindiC
Tagged in: jimmy choo, shoe designers, h&m,
