Every fall H&M does a major collaboration with a high fashion house. Last year it was Jimmy Choo and if you recall, I camped out for that launch and got some good pieces. Some of their high fashion meets fast fashion pairings  have fallen flat on their face, but I think the Jimmy Choo line was almost up there with the Karl Lagerfeld line. All this week I had been hearing rumors about this year's capsule collection. Initially I'd heard that it would be Bottega Veneta which didn't make much sense to me because they are known for leather goods (handbags, luggage, etc). But I was reading today and H&M has confirmed that the collaboration is with Lanvin! Lanvin is one of the oldest Paris fashion houses and although I've seen their clothes in Barneys, I've yet to try on anything and determine if the hype is warranted. I will admit that I usually love the designs by their creative director Alber Elbaz, and what I've seen in the stores is very wearable. Admittedly the line isn't what anyone would consider affordable, even on sale. This silk animal print dress is $3,860.00 at Barneys.

Usually these capsule collections are more about the luxury brand going mainstream or public, but this one is touted as "H & M going luxury". I don't care about anyone else, I'm officially excited about this line. But I'll wait until the collection is unveiled on November 2 to determine if it's worth camping out for.

{image: barneys.com}