By now, we're accustomed to seeing some of fashion's most prominent designers creating collections for high street brands, whether it be Victoria Beckham for Mango or Bella Freud for M&S. There was a time, however, when such a concept was an unknown phenomenon – something which, 20 years ago, H&M changed forever. The high street brand was the pioneer of designer collaborations, starting with Karl Lagerfeld, then creative director of Chanel, in 2004. The rest is history – but not for much longer.
To celebrate two decades of designer collections, H&M has sourced a number of pre-loved items to create a special offering of pieces from the best of them, which are available online from today, 31st October. It includes pieces from the inaugural collection, designed by Lagerfeld, as well as items from Stella McCartney (2005), Lanvin (2010), Versace (2011), Isabel Marant (2013), Erdem and Giambattista Valli. Everything was sourced from Sellpy, the online pre-loved marketplace, as well as a number of global vintage retailers.
H&M's buyers quite literally scoured the globe to find pre-loved pieces from the last 20 years and luckily managed to find some of the rarest items. Interestingly, the brand says that the Comme des Garçons collection from 2008 and the Maison Margiela collab from 2012 are incredibly sought-after and the most difficult to source. Happily, a section of pieces from both of these collections are available.
Given the rate at which H&M's designer collections sell out, this is the perfect opportunity to get your hands on the pieces you missed the first time around, from tulle dresses by Giambattista Valli to Moschino's oversized tees. Of course, you'll have to be quick to ensure you're not disappointed for a second time.
The collection dropped in store in Paris on 24th October, before arriving in London's Regent Street store on 25th, and is now available online at Hm.com. Good luck.
Shop: The Best Pieces From H&M's Pre-Loved Designer Collection
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The Kenzo x H&M collaboration came in the year 2019 and inevitably sold out almost instantly. Alongside the logo jumpers and brightly coloured leggings was this cosy faux shearling jacket that is sure to liven up any look.
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Simone Rocha's H&M collab may have only been a couple of years ago, but we're still surprised to see these sunglasses listed as 'new condition' on the website. We predict this won't be the case for much longer once they work their way into someone else's wardrobe this week.
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The Erdem H&M collection was a particularly exciting one, bringing the brand's eye-catching prints into the high street store, and this dress was one of the best buys.
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This piece is almost 10 years old, proving the lengths the team went to to source all of these signature pieces. Plus, it looks just as chic now as it did back then, showing old classics are timeless for good reason. You can never go wrong with a great blazer
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Even Kendall Jenner was spotted in a version of this Giambattista Valli x H&M Dress back in 2019, proving just how popular the collab was – this pretty pink dress, in particular.
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Mugler sells jeans incredibly similar to this style sill now, although, of course, at a much higher price point. So it's rather exciting to see last year's collab pieces come back around.
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We're predicting this red and white gingham dress to sell out incredibly fast so best be quick if this is on your wish list.
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Admittedly, the selection of sizes of these pre-loved pieces is on the small side, so it's great to see some accessories in the mix, ridding any worry over whether they'll actually fit.
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The Marni x H&M collection launched way back in 2012, making this one of the older items in the pre-loved range. Plus, made from cotton and leather, it's one of the best-priced pieces for quality, too.
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The Moschino x H&M collection was just as fun-filled as you'd imagine, and these trousers were a particular highlight. Although, of course, they may not slot into everyone's wardrobe.
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This 100% wool jacket with an embellished patch sits incredibly highly on our wish lists, so you may find us competing against you at the checkout
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Luckily, just as it was in 2010 (when this collab launched), leopard print is very of-the-moment, so these pumps are sure to be snapped up fast.
Hannah Banks-Walker is Grazia's head of fashion commerce. She has previously written for the likes of Harper's Bazaar, The Financial Times, Glamour, Stylist, The Telegraph, Red, i-D and The Pool on everything from fashion to curly hair (hi!) to the patriarchy. Not necessarily in that order. Find her on Instagram and Twitter. But please don't look for her MySpace profile, which until now was the last time she wrote about herself in the third person.