Matthew Williamson for H&M Spring 2009

[CherryPixie]

STOCKHOLM, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz said British celebrity designer Matthew Williamson would create its next guest collection.
H&M's tradition of bringing in guest designers has been a big hit for the group, which is contending with a tough environment for retailers.

Williamson will start with a women's range at some stores on April 23, followed by men's and women's summer clothes to be offered from all H&M outlets from mid-May.
H&M said Williamson started on the London fashion scene in 1997 with a collection modelled by Kate Moss, Helena Christensen and Jade Jagger. Celebrities such as Kate Hudson, Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Gwyneth Paltrow regularly wear his clothes, H&M said.

Past H&M launches -- including those by Roberto Cavalli and Stella McCartney -- have generated frenzied scenes as shoppers sought to buy chic designs at cut-rate prices. (Editing by David Holmes)

from Reuters.com

[Emilee]

From H&M.com (pressrelease)

H&M is proud to announce that the next guest designer will be Matthew Williamson, the British designer whose colour-drenched collections always carry the promise of the sun. Starting with an exclusive women’s fashion range at selected stores April 23, then continuing with the perfect men’s and women’s pieces for Summer available from mid-May in all H&M stores world wide. In an exclusive for H&M, Williamson will debut his first ever menswear pieces.


“It is an incredible opportunity to be working with H&M, creating a ‘Matthew Williamson for H&M’ capsule collection. I love the fact that H&M have created a new phenomenon in fashion through the pioneering concept of collaborating with high-end designers to create one-off limited edition capsule collections. I am thrilled that my creations for H&M will be accessible to and hopefully enjoyed by so many people around the world,“ says Matthew Williamson.
“Matthew has such a good eye and a way for working with prints that he mixes up in a new way. When he combines these things, you get a very contemporary London look. It’s for people who want to look special, but his clothes can also be worn in a nonchalant way- you can really play around with them. He is fantastic with piling on colour - it’s a very stylish collaboration for H&M, and very much in line with the way we’re thinking about fashion for spring/summer,” says Margareta van den Bosch, Creative advisor at H&M.
Matthew Williamson burst onto the London fashion scene in 1997, with a colour-drenched collection modelled by Kate Moss, Helena Christensen and Jade Jagger. Since then, Williamson has brought the party lifestyle of the global traveller to the catwalk, an Ibizan spirit of colour and freedom that he now shows at New York Fashion Week. His clothes are worn regularly by celebrities such as Sienna Miller, Keira Knightley, Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow, and last year he was honoured with an exhibition at the Design Museum in London - “Matthew Williamson - 10 Years in Fashion”.
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) was established in Sweden in 1947. The company’s business concept is to offer fashion and quality at the best price. H&M is quoted on the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm. Today there are around 1,700 H&M stores on 33 markets. H&M has 68,000 employees and achieved sales including VAT in 2007 of SEK 92,123 million. H&M has a wide product range that is divided into a number of different concepts for women, men, teenagers, children and cosmetics. The company’s clothing collections are created by its own designers, pattern makers and buyers. For further information visit www.hm.com.

[agneslo]

WHAT!!!?? this is thrilling!!

[nat_attak]

How exciting! I'd love love to see this!

[FASHIONLOVA]

this is amazing and i can t wait for it to be out. he s a genious

[lucy92]

this is weird. i dont think his diffusion collection for debenhams was all that sucessful. i think H&M needs stuff with higher price points in the stores though.

from wwd

Picking up the pace of its designer collaborations, H&M said Matthew Williamson would create a women’s collection for April 23 delivery, followed by another range for women and men in mid-May.

An H&M spokeswoman said the “exclusive” women’s range would be carried in about 200 stores, with the second delivery slated for all of its 1,700 stores

[june gloom]

I couldn't be more excited with this pairing! One I'd actually probably camp out for.

[gossiping]

OMG!!!!!!!!! MY FAVOURITE!!! I'll definitely be getting this one.

[educo]

whoa

[deejne]

H&M always does it right

[mackos]

I'm so not excited about it

[Teja]

Can't wait.

[shopping247]

THIS i might have to wait in line for...

[leyla m.]

having worked with matthew williamson for a couple years i can only say im very fond of what he does even though super commercial. noone does colour as good as him and i love his pieces.
i still own so many specials that i wear season after season.
and i suggest this will be nowhere as tacky as the debenhams one

[homeboy]

This will make for some very glamorous summer dresses, tops ans skirt if he executs everything in normal manner. Sadly he's got very little to display in the world of men's fashion so we'll probably get some skimpy shirts and t-shirts. Not very excited about that.