All Babes are Wolves: October 2015

Sunday, October 18, 2015

H&M in NZ

Sasha Pivovarova by Terry Richardson for H&M, Fall 2009

I first came across H&M in London in 1997. My Scandinavian friends raved about 'Hennes', a 'high street' store from Sweden with cool designs at affordable prices. Sure enough, upon checking out their store on Oxford Street I was thrilled by the fantastic buys. I went in Winter and found some fabulous jumpers. Then in Spring I stocked up on their awesome bikinis, the range being fronted by my fave Helena Christensen at the time (1998).

Helena Christensen for H&M, 2009

Picture I took in Zurich of using the H&M campaign, from the inaugural Cow Parade

Upon returning to the Antipodes, I sorely missed H&M. The closest we had during the late 90's was Sportsgirl (Australia) and Glassons (NZ). H&M opened in Västerås, Sweden as Hennes, selling women’s clothing. Founder Erling Persson bought Mauritz Widforss, a hunting and fishing equipment store in 1968 and they included men's and children's clothing. The name is changed to Hennes & Mauritz. In 1976 they opened in London and by 2000 they were across Europe and opened in New York.

Karl Lagerfeld, 2004

H&M's designer collabs have caused mass hysteria, the first collection being with Karl Lagerfeld in 2004, then followed by others including Roberto Cavalli, Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons, Stella McCartney, Versace and Alexander Wang. I recall grabbing the last few designs from their collaboration with Matthew Williamson in New York in 2009, taking a size too small just to own a few of the covetable pieces.

Stella McCartney, 2005

Roberto Cavalli, 207

Matthew Williamson 2009

Versace 2011-12

There are also collaborations with celebrities such as Madonna, David Beckham, Beyonce, Kylie Minogue and their first artist collaboration with Jeff Koons, in 2014.

Madonna by Steven Klein, 2006-7

Jeff Koons, H&M NYC 2014

H&M is now in 21 countries from China to the Middle East across and is finally coming to New Zealand! Their range also includes beauty, sportswear and homeware. H&M's business concept is Fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. Their commitment to being sustainable by using friendly and ethical practices and partners, reusing and being climate smart and is admirable. What's not to love?!

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Anyone for Cricket? Cricket Jumpers 2015

Jennifer Lawrence in Rag & Bone Talia V-Neck

I'm obsessed with cricket sweaters right now. The style is so versatile - they look great with jeans, but I also love this luxe look above on Jennifer Lawrence, genius pairing the preppy jersey with the leopard coat & Valentino studded heels. I also adore this charcoal cricket style sweater on Rachel Griffiths below, which featured on a recent episode of House Husbands.

I'm quite a late comer to this trend, which is surprising given my long lasting love for a deep V-neck jumper. It is pretty much my perfect style and I love the classic cable knit too. Needless to say I was thrilled to find this pic of my fashion fave Kate wearing one below back in 2012.

Kate, 2012

I recently read this amusing article in The Telegraph, the writer begging the cricket establishment not to mess with the classic cricket jersey pattern as it is such an iconic look. "The traditional cable knit cricket sweater was a fashion icon for a breed of men who wouldn’t know a fashion icon if it gave them a fish-paste sandwich and a pint of IPA. It was warm, the better quality ones repelled the rain, a bit, and you could wear it under a jacket afterwards and look somewhat smart as well as sporty. ..There aren’t many garments that you can wear at both ten and 45 years old. In fact, it’s best not to try. Skateboarding dads, I’m looking at you. But the cricket jumper looks equally alright on a kid or a middle-aged chap, and there’s something profoundly comforting about that." Alan Tyers, UK Telegraph, May 2015. I, however, am happy to mix up the style in the name of fashion. This navy version on Laura Bailey below is fabulous.