The Recessionista Reviews Alexander Wang for H&M: Dreadful

Alexander Wang x H&M jacquard-knit dress priced at $99.00 US

Tonight I attended the press preview in Los Angeles for the Alexander Wang x H&M Collection. The collection goes on sale tomorrow, Nov 6, 2014. In a word, this collection is a miss. It’s dreadful. Cheap fabrication, poor fit and dreary.  Most designers launch colorful holiday collections at this time of year.  Remember L’Wren Scott for Banana Republic? Or H&M’s Lanvin Collection with all the beautifully colored holiday dresses.   This is the opposite.   This is goth athletic wear. The color palette is gray and black.  There’s no sparkle or bling,  just big WANG branding on the pieces.  That’s right, you wear these garments, you become a walking WANG billboard.  Although H&M is one of my favorite budget fashion destinations, I can’t recommend Alexander Wang x H&M to my readers or H&M shoppers.   And this collection is not cheap. Dresses start at $59.00 US and there are jackets for $349.00 US.  

The top of the Scuba dress, already crinkled in all its spandex & polyester glory, priced at $79.95.

To even begin to look good in the womenswear in the Alexander Wang x H&M Collection you need to have no curves.  In my opinion, the womenswear  has an unforgiving cut best suited to a teenage boy. Sizes are from 0 to 12 for some garments and XS, S or M for others (like T-shirts.)  In other word, Alexander Wang x H&M  womenswear will look best on someone with no breasts and very slim hips.   The dresses might work well for someone like Rihanna who likes to expose her figure (and is likely paid by H&M to be seen wearing it.)

Huffington Post editors in Wang for H&M. Photo via Huffington Post.

However,  for the average woman, I don’t think these pieces will work.  See the pictures of women wearing Wang for H&M on Huffington Post to see what I mean.   The T-Shirt dress is just not special. It’s just a black blob, there is no definition.

Dress with Perforated Pattern in the window of H&M Sunset Boulveard

The cape dress with the perforated pattern is the best looking piece in the collection, but I didn’t see anyone who was of average size, and I’m talking from size 6-12,  who tried it on in the fitting room looking good in it.  If you’re interested in this dress, hopefully you get to try it before you buy it.   Because of the cut-outs at the waist and the bodice, it will be hard to wear proper foundation under this $149.00 dress.  Shopping the preview sale with me was Mashable writer & Social Media expert Macala Wright.  I asked her what she thought of the Alexander Wang H&M collaboration. “Poor fit, not very innovative. Material only so so,” said Ms. Wright.  That about sums it up.

As far as the outerwear, the coats & jackets I saw were  oversized and overpriced.   There are better looking coats for winter of better fabric than these scuba wear type parkas and bulky coats. Save your hard earned money. There are sporty accessories in the collection, like boxing gloves, swim goggles,  a strange decorative cup with a W on the base, a big leather bag that looks like a hefty black trash bag and rubber soled shoes.   Because there’s so much Pleather (rubber) used in the shoes  they actually have an unpleasant odor.

One of the many Wang atrocities; ALEXANDER WANG x H&M. Decorative cup in metal in two sections joined with a magnet for $29.95 USD.

Bottom line: The Emperor has NO Clothes.  Alexander Wang X H&M is nothing special, and nothing to line up for or lose sleep over.   This stuff might sell in major markets or be bought by stylists who want something “edgy”, but it’s not going to sell like hotcakes in the rest of the world.

Save your hard earned money readers. Buy yourself something of quality at Neiman Marcus Last Call, Saks Off 5th, the Nordstrom Clearance Sale or Shopbop (where they have Alexander Wang’s RTW line at discounts.)  You can get quality fashions at those stores and top designers at affordable prices. Check out Elie Tahari at Kohl’s.   Or just buy something from the regular H&M line–they have plenty of  good looking, affordable fashion. Leave  Alexander Wang X H&M on the H&M racks.   As Pete Townsend might say, the whole thing is an eminence front. It’s a put on. It’s bullshit.

Postscript: The Alexander Wang Collection sold out this morning at H&M stores and online, however, there are now over 2,600 listings for the Alexander Wang for H&M  collection on eBay.  I’ll be curious to see how many of these items don’t sell and are eventually returned to H&M.