One of the things I've learned about living in New York City is that people get very serious about designer collaborations and there's nothing fashionistas like more than finding a designer's-brand-name-bargain.
So this morning, it was only natural to see the long line of people standing outside H&M, waiting for the doors to open. The retail chain presented its first collection in collaboration with Marni and savvy shoppers were excited to land their couture looks, without having to spend a fortune.
Marni is the high-end Italian brand created by Consuelo Castiglioni. The designer, who is actually half Chilean, never had any training in fashion and she founded the label in 1994. Marni now exceeds $100 million in sales per year and is worn by all the rich and famous celebrities.
I saw the collection online a couple of days ago, because my mother (who's in Mexico) had been asking me to go to the store and get her a couple of things. The pieces looked pretty cool, bold printed blouses, polka-dotted frocks, structured jackets, silk shorts, sandals, and amazing accessories like chunky bracelets and necklaces.
My friend Marisa and I agreed to check it out together this morning. This is the first time I've ever done something like this, but I was actually very curious because of the media buzz and my Mother's insistence.
So, I woke up at 6:45 AM, met Marisa for coffee at 7:30 and we walked together to 5th Avenue. There was already a long line outside of the store that wrapped around Fifth Avenue. There were a couple of guys assigning time slots with a color bracelet and they told me that they where actually around 30 people camping outside the store overnight. I thought to myself, "You got to be kidding me," just leaving my kids in the hands of my husband was a very bold move on my part, so to consider spending a night waiting in line seems outrageous.
Anyway, our time slot was 9:15 AM and as we got closer to the door we could see all the happy and excited women walking out of the store with their big bags, sharing their "finds" with their friends.
People went inside in batches and they had only 15 minutes to shop. The crowd was pretty mixed up, younger girls, older women, men in suits, model types, working women checking their Blackberry's and amazingly, there were even a couple of women with strollers.That's what I call an "I would do anything for a bargain" attitude.
When we got inside we realized that a lot of the sizes already were starting to disappear and the bracelets and necklaces were all gone. This was very disappointing to me, since it's the only thing I really wanted.
Marisa and I used our 15 minutes to go through the racks and we left the store content, but not elated. Overall, it was still a good experience–I did get my Mom's dresses, so I am certain that she, at least, will be quite happy.
