After the success of H&M’s collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney, the high street fashion retailer has announced it will be teaming up with Dutch design duo Viktor and Rolf to produce a collection for Autumn/Winter 2006. Of the venture, Viktor & Rolf said,

“If haute couture is the most sublime form of fashion, then H&M is fashion at its most democratic. Our roots are based in couture. It’s the heart and soul of our work. But we also love to play with opposites: Transformation is a key element of our signature style,”

H&M must have high hopes for the collection after reporting total growth in sales of only 9 per cent compared to a previous 15 per cent. Aside from poor sales it’s also lost its position as Europe’s largest clothes retailer to Spanish fashion group, Inditex. (owners of Zara)