H&M;’s designer range with Balmain is coming to a High Street near you very soon

Home Top

Kate's the star of the show: Duchess of Cambridge wears $600 space-inspired dress as she joins William and Harry for premiere
'Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of Scientology itself': Leah Remini blasts Hollywood star in a preview of her blistering expose of the shadowy religion
Biden says he didn't run for president because he 'couldn't win', and dispels rumors that son Beau tried to convince him to run from his death bed
Bacon, burgers and sausages DO cause cancer and are as big a threat as cigarettes, says World Health Organisation
Mystery of the 'alien megastructure' SOLVED? Bizarre object is more likely to be a lopsided star than a Dyson sphere
Why fat people should be charged more to fly: It's not fair for thin people to suffer through the age of the supersize traveller
EXCLUSIVE: Perverted Saudi prince ordered his entire staff to strip naked at his Beverly Hills mansion's pool and said: 'I want to see some naked p****,' court papers claim
Two men shot at $1.8million Queens mansion party after organiser 'rented it from Airbnb, hired security guards and charged 200 people $25 for entry'
Teen couple, both 17, found dead in the back of a parked minivan hours after their families reported them missing
'Raped' 13-year-old girl kidnaps her alleged attacker's five-year-old son and decapitates him as 'revenge' in India
Mysterious UFO called 'WTF' is on a collision course with Earth: Space junk will crash into the Indian Ocean next month
Cutest video of the year? Man rescues injured fawn, fixes its broken leg and releases it into the wild - except the baby deer just doesn't want to leave his side!
Man who failed paternity test for his child is shocked to discover the DNA in his sperm came from his TWIN who was 'lost' in the womb
Can't get to sleep? Avoid weekend lie-ins and DO exercise before bed: Experts bust 6 common myths to help you nod off
Economy passenger handcuffed and led off plane after she 'used business class toilet' to be sick
London to New York in half an hour? Skreemr concept could travel FIVE times faster than Concorde
Outrage at Alabama fifth grade teacher's black face 'Kanye West' Halloween costume
GOP sees just four of its 15 candidates as electable - Trump the tops list, followed by Carson, Bush and Rubio
McDonald Trump: GOP front-runner says he ate at McDonald's last night as he parries questions about his regular-guy credentials
Donald Trump says the world would be a BETTER place if Saddam and Gaddafi were still in power
Bernie Sanders laughs at the suggestion that he's a sexist for saying that Hillary Clinton was 'shouting about gun violence'
Chris Christie is 'kicked out' of Amtrak quiet car for talking too loudly on his phone while clutching McDonald's strawberry smoothie
New poll has Carson TIED with Trump in Iowa, as two other polls have Carson pulling ahead - and sending The Donald into a snit
Central Asia is rocked by powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake: Terrified men and women try to stay on their feet in astonishing video from quake

H&M launches another designer collection on November 5th
Balmain is famous for expensive, luxurious clothes
But you can pick them up in H&M for a fraction of the price

Published: 20:20 EST, 25 October 2015 | Updated: 04:43 EST, 26 October 2015

View
comments

As I tumbled backwards on to the floor, my assailant - a smartly dressed woman in her late 30s - showed no remorse. But instead of lunging for my handbag, her target was the delicately embroidered cardigan I'd been holding just seconds earlier.

This was no inner-city mugging. In fact, I was in the usually humdrum surroundings of H&M in London's Oxford Street.

Thanks to the launch of yet another hysteria-inducing designer collaboration (the cardigan in question was from the Matthew Williamson for H&M range in 2009), at that moment the store more closely resembled a bunfight as women snatched and pushed in a bid to grab themselves a bargain.

Scroll down for video

On November 5, H&M launches its most hyped limited-edition designer collection yet - with Balmain

And these scenes are about to be repeated. For on November 5, H&M launches its most hyped limited-edition designer collection yet - with luxury French fashion house Balmain, best known for its heavily embellished mini-dresses, Napoleon-esque military jackets and eye-watering price tags.

I will be sharpening my elbows at the front of the queue of women eager to get their hands on copies of dresses that usually retail for more than the deposit on a small London flat.

My wardrobe boasts at least one item from every designer collaboration H&M has done. In my quest, I've been shoved, elbowed and, during a particularly savage encounter at Roberto Cavalli for H&M, rammed by a pushchair laden with leopard-print (I dread to think whether there was a child under there!).

But, this time around, I will no longer be risking life and limb, thanks to a well-policed wristband system H&M introduced a few years ago, which allows shoppers to enter in small groups at set times, with ten minutes to grab as many clothes as they can.

H&M's first collaboration - in 2004, with Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld - was something of a gamble, mainly because designer clobber had not been offered on the High Street before.

Although it is no longer the only High Street brand to do such collaborations, H&M's annual partnership has become one of the biggest events in the fashion calendar, with designers such as Stella McCartney and Versace creating cut-price collections.

Certainly, the quality is far superior to H&M's usual fare, boasting silk, tulle, leather, embellishment and embroidery - even if sizing can be a bit all over the place.

Balmain's creative director, Olivier Rousteing, says he wanted to 'push the boundaries of craftsmanship' for his forthcoming collection.

While the prices aren't a patch on the real thing (few pieces in the main collection retail below £1,000), the three-figure price tags on items such as the white embellished dress (£399.99) and the diamond-encrusted black top (£249.99) may still raise eyebrows among H&M's bargain-loving clientele.

But I like to think of them as investments. One of my favourite items is a butter-soft leather jacket embellished with studs from the Versace collection, which cost £149.99; another, a floor-sweeping leopard-print Cavalli gown I wore to a ball, cost around £100. The beauty of these collaborations is there's something for everyone.

Each year, my mother and I queue together, and she often leaves with more than I do. In the frenzy of your ten-minute slot, though, you can grab some howlers - in my case (from last year's painfully cool Alexander Wang collection), a pair of unisex sunglasses that looked like they were for the visually impaired. But given that the returns policy for these collaborations is often much shorter (around three to seven days), I can usually recoup my cash by selling the items on eBay. See you in the queue!

Left: Magenta blouse, £59.99; earrings, £24.99; and ring, £12.99, Balmain at hm.com Leather skirt, £195, reiss.com Shoes, £29.99, zara.com. Centre: Sandals, £119.99, and cuff, £39.99, Balmain at hm.com Navy wrap dress, £190, reiss.com Inge Christopher bag, £76, shopbop.com. Right: Velvet embellished jacket, £299.99, Balmain at hm.com Trousers, £130, johnlewis.com Silk top, £80, reiss.com Clutch bag, £59, coast-stores.com

THE SILK BLOUSE

This beautiful silk blouse is one of the most wearable pieces from the collection - the subtle detailing of the gold buttons keeps with the military theme of the collection.

THE ROPE STILETTOS

Tying in with the overall theme, these high-heeled caged sandals feature a classic rope design. And the accessories are just as strong as the clothing.

THE TROPHY JACKET

This beaded jacket is sure to be a trophy piece from the collection. It needs minimal accessories, as the jacket speaks for itself. For a powerful look, pair with tuxedo trousers and high- heeled sandals.

Left: Dress, £49.99, and clutch, £24.99, Balmain at hm.com Earrings, £12, and ring, £15, accessorize.com Heels, £29.99, zara.com. Centre: Top, £79.99, Balmain at hm.com Suede skirt, £80, warehouse.co.uk Bracelet (below right), £15, and earrings, (below left), £10, accessorize.com. Right: Sequin dress, £119.99, Balmain at hm.com Ring, £75, monica vinader.com Top, £5, marks andspencer.com Boots, £59.99, zara.com.

THE LITTLE RED DRESS

Balance out busy embellishment with this classic Balmain-shaped dress. The black illusion panels make it extremely flattering. Accessorise with the matching clutch.

THE MILITARY TOP

Adding texture to the collection is this rope-detail top in a bright yellow, with classic gold detailing.

THE SHOWSTOPPER

Not one for the shy, this green sequin dress, with its deep V-plunge, is a standout piece. This dress will be perfect for Christmas parties.