H&M live from Central Park
New York City, Thursday, April 21st – H&M made international fashion news last night in the city that shares its love of style: New York. The international brand, beloved for its energetic and accessible approach to clothing, treated 800 people – many flown in from around the globe – to ‘H&M live from Central Park’, an unprecedented evening of fashion and music.
Guests at the event were figures from the fashion, film, music, art and media worlds as well as a cross-section of New York style-setters – the people who wear H&M uptown, downtown and everywhere in between, including hip-hop superstars, Kanye West, John Legend and Miri Ben-Ari along with a cool group of young stars such as Catalina Sandino Moreno (Oscar nominee for Maria Full Of Grace), American Idol’s Mario Vasquez, actresses Piper Perabo and Kaley Cuoco and German actor Benno Furmann – as well as models Karen Elson, Alek Wek and Missy Rayder, and H&M head designer Margareta van den Bosch.
The event was set in a custom-built complex of tents in New York’s Central Park, and guests arrived by passing through a 16-foot curtain of orchids. The fashion show – thought to be the largest ever in New York – and the cocktail party and dinner took place in a 15,000-square foot, four-story space that combined the fun, modern feel of H&M with the natural beauty of Central Park.
The highlight of the evening was a spectacular fashion show featuring H&M’s Fall 2005 fashion worn by 150 models who walked intersecting runways in dynamic groups. ‘We chose to work with established models as well as some really interesting new talents,’ explains women’s stylist Lori Goldstein. ‘The era of the supermodels is over. Now the focus is all fashion and style, not names.’
‘Great style goes from one extreme to another this season,’ says Goldstein. Either it’s ‘pile on as much as you can’ with the Rustic trend which features heavily layered folklore and uniform inspired clothes with plenty of details and accessories – or it’s ‘confidently clean’ Minimalism which features a fresh mix of clean cut tailored and athletic wear. Lastly, it’s full blown rock ‘n roll romanticism with the Baroccoco theme. For women, Baroccoco features innovative and womanly looks with a mixture of influences including: lingerie, uniforms, disco glam, and punk. For men, it’s all about rock star evening looks, ‘but bless the ones who wear their rock star party gear during the day,’ says menswear stylist Bill Mullen. There are no rules or limits for great individual style.
In keeping with the brand’s stylish and progressive global attitude, H&M asked the new hip-hop and R&B superstar, Kanye West, to perform. West was one of the big winners at this year’s Grammy Awards, winning three awards. At the ‘H&M live from Central Park’ event, West collaborated with two sensational international musicians – pianist John Legend and hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari – to create an unforgettable musical performance following the fashion show. Afterwards, DJ Spinna had everyone dancing well past midnight.
Around the world, H&M is synonymous with affordable and fashionable clothing that mixes of-the-moment trends with modern wardrobe basics. Founded in Sweden in 1947, today, the women’s, men’s, kids, teens and accessories collections are sold in around 1,100 stores worldwide with a significant and expanding presence in the US and Canada. At its core, H&M is devoted to being a source of fun and progressive fashion. The recent, highly successful limited-edition collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld marked the first such collaboration for the company.
Pictures and film material from the fashion show can be found at www.hm.com
Annacarin Björne, 08-796 57 57
E-mail: annacarin.bjorne@hm.com
Liv Asarnoj, 08-796 53 82
E-mail: liv.asarnoj@hm.com