14 DAY TRIAL // Jimmy Choo shoes and handbags have become the appanage of only a select few. With prices upwards of $600 for a pair of shoes and double the amount for a tote, the brand has been catering mostly for celebrities and financially well-off women. Regular women also stand a chance now of looking as glamorous as ladies pertaining to these two categories, as Jimmy Choo has just agreed to bring a luxury affordable complete line to H&M upmarket stores, as Forbes can confirm.
President and co-founder of the brand Tamara Mellon has already confirmed the collaboration, saying that 200 H&M stores all across the world will carry the Jimmy Choo designed line, which will include shoes, bags, accessories and clothing items. The line will be launched on November 14, when Jimmy Choo will officially join the long line of designers and stars that H&M has brought along throughout the years, right there next to the iconic Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli, Viktor and Rolf, and singer Madonna to name just a few.
“It’s such a privilege to design a collection to appeal to fashion savvy, street smart women. Jimmy Choo will bring to H&M a sophisticated, fashion forward, accessible and glamorous collection – the perfect party pieces to wear out at night.” Mellon told the media in an official statement released a few hours ago. H&M creative designer Margareta van den Bosch agrees that the partnership will prove highly successful, “We adore Jimmy Choo’s shoes and bags. I like the way we have worked with clothes to accessorize the shoes and bags rather than the other way around.”
Speaking of success, Forbes reports that this is precisely the whole idea behind what might at first sight seem like an unlikely collaboration. Given the context of the current economic downturn, this is the best solution designers have to avoid bankruptcy and financial trouble, by joining forces to offer customers items that are so irresistible that they simply have to spend money to have them.
“The H&M model could prove invaluable for luxury goods firms struggling to cope with high-net-worth customers cutting down their spending. As a whole, the industry has steadfastly avoided launching too many cheaper products, fearful that this could dilute brand names. However, short-term partnerships such as the H&M deals are quite a different ballgame, giving them short-term visibility in a new market without the companies seemingly succumbing to the downturn.” Forbes says of the just announced partnership.