Mariam Nihal

Saudi Gazette

 

When Alexander Wang announced collaboration with Swedish fashion retailer H&M, the whole world lost its cool for a while. It did not end till the launch took over on 6th of November. For all it is worth, the hysteria ended within a few minutes. The website crashed 10 minutes prior to the line going live as the hashtag #alexanderwangxhm trended on Twitter. The entire collection sold out within half an hour in UAE and within 45 minutes in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Customers start queuing up from 5:30 AM in UAE and 6:30 AM in Saudi Arabia for the universal launch at 8 AM. For most dedicated campers outside H&M stores it was a quest to win the most bragging rights and contests of who-wore-it-first. Ebay sold most items priced twice the original tags and many took to social media to do the same.



The fashion line featured black and greys for men and women including accessories like yoga mats, whistles and even duffle bags.



The collection included 38 pieces with scuba dresses, jackets, sweatshirts, mesh-panelled leggings, cropped bra tops, parkas and leather tights. Joan Smalls, Raquel Zimmermann and Isabeli Fontana modeled the sports-inspired clothes among other athletes. Wang is the first American fashion designer to collaborate with H&M.