more on Versace for H&M

Versace: What's the bright idea?

Luxury brands have never seemed further from reach, but Versace's shrewd link-up with H&M delivers glamorous fashion at a budget price--Susannah Frankel

"Iconic pieces for young people – the essence of Versace" is how Donatella Versace describes her collection for H&M, which previewed in London yesterday and goes on sale online and in H&M stores worldwide at 9am next Thursday. Expect camping on pavements, queuing around the block and sharpened elbows when this, perhaps the finest designer offering from the Swedish high-street giant to date, drops.

H&M's link-ups with some of fashion's biggest names began in a blaze of publicity in 2004 with Karl Lagerfeld – and that sold out in a matter of hours. Its creator – who starred in the accompanying advertising campaign – has since said the experience was responsible for making him a household name.

In fact, Ms Versace, who is already among the most famous faces in the industry, was originally approached by the powers that be at the chain two years ago. At that point, the designer was concentrating, she said, on her own business, which was in the throes of restructuring following the 2008 crash, so she turned it down.

"I wanted to stabilise the main collection everywhere in the world," she told Women's Wear Daily earlier this week. Now though, with sales at Versace on the rise and its business and profile growing as a result not least of young British designer Christopher Kane's reinvention of the younger Versus line, the company has finally taken the plunge – and it couldn't be more timely.

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