NEW H&M PARTNERSHIP'S GONNA BE INSANE

COMME DES GARÇONS IN COLLABORATION WITH H&M THIS AUTUMN

Comme des Garçons' founder and head designer Rei Kawakubo will create thisautumn's guest designer collection at H&M. Rei Kawakubo, famous and admired for her creativity and artistry, will design a women's and a men's collection, with some pieces for children too. Accessories and an exclusive unisex fragrance willalso be included in the collection.
"I have always been interested in the balance between creation and business. Itis a dilemma, although for me creation has always been the first priority. It is a fascinating challenge to work with H&M since it is a chance to take thedilemma to its extreme, and try to solve it", says Rei Kawakubo, Comme desGarçons.
"Rei Kawakubo has been at the top of our wish list for a long time and we arethrilled that she has chosen to collaborate with us. We have tremendous respectfor Kawakubo's fashion philosophy of questioning fashion's ingrained patterns,and admire her artistic approach to design. We are particularly excited that thecollection will be launched in Japan, Kawakubo's native country, at the sametime as the launch of our new store there", explains Margareta van den Bosch,creative advisor, H&M.

The world launch of the collection will be at the opening of H&M's second store in Tokyo, Japan, in the beginning of November. Launch date for other H&M markets will be a few days later.

FAHMAZING since the prices will be lower-ish and AAAAAAAAAAAAH FAHMAZING!

H&M MAKES BIG ACQUISITION

This is sooo awesome, does that mean one will be able to get Cheap Monday's for lowerthan the already lower price?-fahmazing!

H&M has signed an agreement to acquire the privately owned Swedish fashion company Fabric Scandinavien AB that is running the store chains Weekday and Monki. The Group also designs and sells fashion through a number of own brands,such as Cheap Monday. The turnover for the financial year 2007/08 is expected toreach approximately SEK 400 million. The company will be run as a stand alonesubsidiary within the H&M Group.
- We have been impressed by Fabric Scandinavien's development for a long timeand we see a potential to develop stores and concepts in other markets. Byworking together we can accelerate the growth further. We can also do it in amore efficient manner by drawing on H&M's experience and knowledge of forexample production, logistics and establishment, says H&M's CEO Rolf Eriksen.
- H&M is a fantastic company and we have found that we share the same values.Together with H&M we will have better opportunities to truly develop our ideaswithin fashion and design. H&M's knowledge of for instance production andinternational expansion will be extremely valuable to us, says FabricScandinavien's CEO Lars Karlsson.
The subsidiary Weekday Brands designs, produces and runs wholesale selling of young fashion. Its largest own brand is Cheap Monday, primarily a denim line.The idea behind Cheap Monday is fashion at good prices, something that goes well with H&M's business idea; fashion and quality at the best price. Cheap Monday is sold in more than 1,000 stores globally. Among the brands are also MTWTFSSWeekday and Sunday Sun.
The store chain Weekday is an urban unisex concept with a total of six stores in Stockholm, Uppsala, Gothenburg and Malmö. In March the first store will openoutside Sweden in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Monki is a store concept and an own brand for young females. Since the start inGothenburg in 2006 Monki has expanded to Stockholm, Uppsala, Malmö, Karlstad,Sundsvall and Norrköping, amounting to a total of twelve stores.
H&M acquires 60 percent of the shares in Fabric Scandinavien for SEK 564 millionin cash. Sellers are the founders Adam Friberg, Lars Karlsson, Örjan Anderssonand Linda Friberg. They will all continue to work within the company. Inconnection with the transaction the parties entered into agreement according towhich H&M has the possibility/obligation to acquire the remaining shares in thecompany within three to five years. The total turnover of the Group's businesswas approximately SEK 250 million during the financial year 2006/07, with anoperating result of SEK 67 million. The expected turnover for the financial year2007/08 is approximately SEK 400 million with continued good profitability. Theemployment conditions for the 300 employees will not change as a result of thetransaction.
The transaction is conditioned by acceptance of relevant competitionauthorities. SEB Enskilda has acted as financial advisor to H&M in connectionwith the acquisition.

H&M "FASHION AGAINST AIDS"

H&M and Designers Against AIDS (DAA) are joining forces in the battle againstAIDS and are launching a collection for guys and girls together with Rihanna,Timbaland and other well-known designers, musicians and artists. The aim is tospread awareness about HIV/AIDS, which affects many young people all over theworld. The collection "Fashion Against AIDS" will be available in H&M's Divideddepartments from February 2008.

The artists taking part in "Fashion Against AIDS" are Rihanna, Chicks on Speed,Good Charlotte, Henrik Vibskov, Jade Jagger, Katharine Hamnett, My ChemicalRomance, Rufus Wainwright, Scissor Sisters, The Cardigans, Tiga, Timbaland andZiggy Marley.
"Supporting YouthAIDS through the Fashion Against AIDS campaign was a great wayto encourage my fans to join me in the fight against HIV/AIDS. I love that H&Mis providing a fashionable and easy way for young people all over the world toget involved in this worthy cause, "says Rihanna.

The idea behind the collection is to draw attention to HIV/AIDS and increaseyoung people's awareness of it. Twelve million young people in the 15-24 agegroup are now infected with the virus. The initiative for this collaborativeventure was taken by Designers Against AIDS (DAA), a non-profit organisation that seeks to mould public opinion through collaboration with fashion designers,musicians and other artists.
"Fifty per cent of the people newly infected with HIV are aged between 15 and24. There's an urgent need to do something in this target group. By combiningfashion with music in this way we hope to get these young people to `stop andthink', as Katharine Hamnett puts it on one of the garments in the collection,"says Ninette Murk, the founder of DAA.

The artists participate free of charge and 25 per cent of the proceeds from the collection will go to HIV/AIDS-prevention projects around the world. This will be coordinated by DAA and YouthAIDS, Population Services International's (PSI)HIV/AIDS prevention initiative which reaches more than 600 million young peoplein 60 countries.
"Every fifteen seconds someone in the 15-24 age group contracts HIV/AIDS.Shopping has never been more important. Every garment sold makes a difference",says Kate Roberts, the founder of YouthAIDS.
The collection comprises T-shirts, tank tops and hooded sweaters. All garmentsfeature a print and the neckline label carries the name of the print designer.Some of the prints are low-key and subtle, and whisper that this is important.Others raise their voice. Katharine Hamnett's print in big, black, blocklettering on a white background shouts "USE A CONDOM!", while Tiga's checkall-over print calls for quiet reflection. Some of the squares have a different colour and represent all those who have the virus. The idea behind the campaign is summed up by Henrik Vibskov's print: Be aware - it is still happening.
"It's a collection that's rich in colour, with considerable commitment goinginto every garment. The artists have created personal prints with a strong senseof style," says H&M's head of design Margareta van den Bosch.


Prices vary from £7.99 to £19.99. All garments are made from 100 per centcertified organic cotton and carry a special hang tag that reads: "This might bethe most important piece of clothing you've ever had your hands on."

MARIMEKKO AND H&M

FROM H&M:

MAGNIFICENT MARIMEKKO PATTERNS AT H&M THIS SPRING

H&M's designers have created a beautiful collection with Marimekko's popular
patterns from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s for the summer 2008. The collection of
some 50 products will be sold in H&M's stores on all 28 markets from April 2008.
The collection, which has a graphic overall look, will comprise airy summer
favourites such as wide 70s dresses, tunics, skirts and shorts for women. For
men there will be classic summer shirts and shorts. There will be some items for
children as well and all comes with accessories to match.
"Our design team has long admired Marimekko's vivid prints and colours. When our
designers came up with the idea of creating a collection with Marimekko prints,
it felt natural and just the right time. The summer collection 2008 will be
joyfully fresh like a vitamin injection," states H&M's head of design Margareta
van den Bosch.
"H&M is one of the trendiest and most successful fashion houses in the world. I
see a great value in our co-operation. I believe that it will enhance
Marimekko's international recognition among young and fashion-conscious
consumers, "says Kirsti Paakkanen, President of Marimekko.
Marimekko is a leading Finnish textile and clothing design company that was
established in 1951. The company designs, manufactures and markets high-quality
clothing, interior design textiles, bags and other accessories under the
Marimekko brand, both in Finland and abroad. www.marimekko.com

CAVALLI FOR H&M FINALLY HERE

This was on their blog earlier today

Fashion news

Roberto Cavalli for H&M launches Nov. 8 in 200 select stores but not Columbus,OH (ugh!)

Zac Posen inked a fragrance deal with Selective Beauty same company making John Galliano's perfumes.

Ohio based Procter & Gamble partnering with Italian Replay for fragrance deal. They dropped Rochas(boo) because they couldn't profit from fragrance sales.

Dolce and Gabbana are outfitting the Chinese men soccer team. Prelude to some fabulous things to come in Beijing '08. Can something like that work for the Columbus Crew?