Designer Fashion For The Masses Or Selling Out? by Cat Watson
I am a fashion snob. I love fashion. I love the exclusivity of designer fashion. I love the feeling of walking into a designer store walking on the soft pile carpet, having the luxury of space and admiring the garments sparsely hung around the store. I love the hand feel of the beautiful fabrics, I appreciate the cut of a designer garment, and I love not having to elbow my way past the hoi polloi fighting over the bargain bins. I also love finding a new designer, seeing a bright new talent that is untamed and exciting. Speaking to them and feeling their enthusiasm for their product. The passion young designers have is contagious and revives my love for the industry every time I am lucky enough to come across a budding Galliano or Westwood. It reaffirms to me that I am a fashion hunter; I find new designers and I buy something that not many others have, when people ask me where something is from I take pride in telling them it’s from a little designer I found, hidden up some back street off Brick Lane. It’s like treasure. Jimmy Choos collaboration with H&M has gone down as the best yet, selling out in a mere 10 minutes! I am sure Tamara Mellon, of Jimmy Choo is enjoying a glass of Bolly in celebration. An absolute success! Or is it? Whilst H&M is proud to be collaborating with inspirational designers and is making high fashion affordable and available to the masses I have to question if this is really as great as the commercial magazines make out to their fashion hungry readers. If, as a mere mortal you got to see the collection in store you must have won one of the golden tickets, as most product was sold to the VIPs and fashion moguls who were sent invitations for the launch. With sales restricted to four pairs per customer and each only allowed to buy one size I have to wonder why so many pairs of Jimmy Choos for H&M have ended up on EBay? Hmm. So, not so beautiful that you have to keep them in your dressing room with photos of the shoes on the cherished box just like Carrie in SATC. It appears not, as the seven pages of EBay offering Jimmy Choo at H&M makes the product suddenly appear less desirable.
