It’s been almost two weeks since Alexander Wang’s collaboration with H&M landed in stores, but unless you’re one of the lucky few (meaning, we assume you are really good at getting up extremely early), chances are you never even got your hands on one the neoprene sweatshirts or oversized jackets. After teasing us with sneak peeks, campaign shots, and Instagram videos for (seven, long) months on end, the collection sold out in a blink of an eye. And, the fact that the H&M website crashed on release day due to server overload didn’t make things any easier, either.
Considering Wang is the reigning king of downtown cool, it’s not that surprising that everyone wanted a piece of his line. But, this rollout was different than most because it involved almost a year’s worth of carefully executed, top-secret planning. Racked dissected the formula, beginning with the announcement back in April, and came to the conclusion that this fast-fashion collab was not just successful, it was the perfect storm of hype. The surprise announcement party at Coachella, celebrity endorsements from stars like Rihanna, a targeted social media strategy, and the simultaneous rise of sportswear in high fashion all played key roles.
Futhermore, as trend analyst Angela Velasquez tells Racked, "It wasn't just a less expensive homage to his archive: there were elements of his spring 2015 collection, like mesh and padded materials, plus it mirrored what's going on in the market and on the runways." The latest H&M collaboration understood that nobody wants an obviously watered-down version of the catwalk, no matter what the price point. And, by the looks of the empty racks, there was hardly a Wang fan who wasn't willing to shell out to get the designs, even if it meant crack-of-dawn waiting lines. For everyone who’s still pining after a coveted piece, well, there’s always eBay. (Racked)