Traditionally, fashion was associated only with big name designers like Prada, Ghesquiere, Lanvin or Yves St. Laurent. Each season they would dictate what the masses would wear the next season, but it would often take quite some time for these new trends to trickle their way down to the department stores at a price level the average person could afford. H&M, Target and Kohl’s weren’t exactly going to be found on the cover of InStyle or Vogue.

Recently, however, the tide has turned and big name designers are all collaborating with these chain stores to create limited edition lines at fairly modest prices (compared to their runway counterparts, anyway). Behnaz Sarafpour, Vera Wang, Stella McCartney and Luella have all collaborated with big chain stores to great success. But despite the ease with which anyone can purchase a sweater from any of these designers collections, obtaining an item from their collaborations can be a different story entirely.

Take, for example, the recent Roberto Cavalli collaboration with H&M. In this video, you can see girls that have camped outside overnight to get a spot in line at the store. When the doors opened, it was the equivalent of a stampede. I wouldn’t be surprised if blood was shed over the leopard trench. Although covetable, no animals were harmed in the making of the coat and in my book that means that people shouldn’t be harmed while trying to buy it. One girl showcased her collection of shopping bags and admitted to having spent over $6000 dollars US. Now, even if she had purchased one of each item, there is no way she could have rung up a $6000 charge.

So, what is she going to do with the rest? Sell them on ebay, at no doubt what will be an obscene markup? Doesn’t this then defeat the purpose of ‘design for the masses’? Shopping can already be traumatic enough (I refer to my brief flirtation with skinny jeans, which I have sadly determined are not for my body type), and it seems absurd to declare war on your fellow shoppers in pursuit of an article of clothing.

I have coveted a bag or a dress so much that I have made irrational financial decisions, but fashion, for me, has never been about competition (in pursuit of a garment or otherwise). It’s about what makes me feel good, and when this much hype is set up in pursuit of a particular piece of clothing disappointment is bound to follow. Sure, it’s fun to own something that isn’t widely available, but this is why we have vintage shops and tiny boutiques.

The mantra of all of these bargain-fashion shops has been to make trends accessible to everyone, and to then release a limited edition collection seems quite hypocritical. They should instead up the production of each line and truly support their ideology—the demand is clearly there.

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1. Coming soon to an EBay near you: So predictable…already “must-have items are making their way on to eBay for FIVE times their original price

2. All in NY: A lot of the whoopla occurred at H&M’s flagship store on New York’s Fifth Avenue where Cavalli turned up with model Jessica Stam to continue the party and which saw more than 100 people anxiously waiting. Some had been queuing since 7pm the day before. One shopper boasted that she picked up Cavalli’s finished cigar from the floor and will be selling it on eBay…we think that deserves an “eewww!

3. All gone: According to NY Mag, the collection sold out within 30mins in New York and two hours in London, Hong Kong and Milan

4. In store bribery: A commenter on H&M’s blog reported of some in store bribing in Holland. Apparently on the spot and amongst the mayhem a shopper actually sold a dress they grabbed for 10 Euros more than its retail price!

5. Mixed reactions: Reports of catfights galore are flooding in over at H&M but apparently none of them occurred in Sweden. Some are pissed at the exclusivity of the collection. While others are pleased as punch with their purchases. All in all it’s pretty safe to say that H&M made a killing and Cavalli’s ego has been seriously massaged. We love you Cavalli!

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Roberto Cavalli at H&M hits stores today! Doesn’t time fly? We thought we’d been anticipating the release date for ages but in actual fact its come round VERY quickly. Catarina over at H&M’s blog has some words of advice for anyone lusting after items from the collaboration.

Get up early and fight for your fashion OR be cool and patiently wait for returns. If you live in Scandinavia, Holland, Germany and Austria and like to stay up late you can also shop online from 23.59 CET on the release day 8 November.

If you manage to nab some pieces from the collection, get caught up in any fashion melodramas, queue for a lifetime….let us know! Tell us everything! We can’t wait!

[Image:H&M]

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Tis the season to be merry! Well it will be soon. This can only mean one thing…. its time to start thinking of what to wear to all those fabulous parties you’ve been invited to. For the next 10 days we’ll be offering our assistance and recommending some of the hottest party dresses around. Up first is the dazzling sequinned mini dress, £149.99/$249.99, from the Roberto Cavalli at H&M collaboration. We reckon this has got to be the best buy from the entire collection. In true Cavalli style, its glam and sexy! It won’t be available until Nov 8th when the full collection makes its worldwide debut. Visit hm.com to locate your nearest stockist.

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Celebrations for the launch of “Roberto Cavalli at H&M” began last night at Rome’s Salone delle Fonatane during which the collection made its debut to the press. Halle Berry and Sharon Stone showed their support and partied with Cavalli, along with most of the models from the campaign and Vogue’s resident TV presenter Louise Roe.

See after the jump for a video of the evening.

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We love an exclusive! Here exclusively for you we have a couple of images from the “Roberto Cavalli at H&M ad campaign. And what would a Cavalli line be without leopard prints? Judging from the pictures we can expect lots of it!

It looks like Cavalli and H&M have gone all out on this one, enlisting rock ‘n’ roll kids, Theodora Richards and Sean Lennon to model as well as Julia Roitfeld, (daughter of Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld) Jessica Stam, Lydia Hearst and Anouck Lepère.

Shot at the Cavalli residence in Florence, Italy, the adverts are a celebration of the good life….glory, glamour and enjoying the company of friends and were taken by famous American photographer Terry Richardson. Roll on Nov. 8th, when the line hits 200 stores worldwide.

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I know I’m probably aligning myself with the minority when I say this, but not only am I looking forward to Roberto Cavalli for H&M but I believe the line will be a success. Let’s hope I’m not forced to eat my words when the collection hits the stores in November! But seriously… judging from these preview pics I do think we’re in for a treat. In fact as far as collaborations go I’d say we’re in for a lot of treats this season.

Preens capsule collection for TopShop is swoon worthy and more! The line arrives at TopShop during London Fashion Week and if you’re in need of a fashion fix and haven’t yet seen the collection I suggest you head over to Style Bubble who’s posted some great images.

Then there’s Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony. According to Vogue, vintage loving Sevigny will be lending a helping hand to design her very own collection for the store. Now I know I’m not a fan of celebrity labels but I’ll be the first to admit that the girls got style and fashion knowledge in abundance which will hopefully manifest itself in the finished product due to be unveiled on Sept 10.

Finally…if that isn’t enough we have Jovovich-Hawk for Target to look forward to in Spring 2008. In my opinion this is the most exciting Target collaboration yet. Sorry guys Proenza Scholuer and Erin Fetherstone just didn’t do it for me!

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