H&M Celebrates 20 Years of Guest Designer Collabs with Re-Releases

This year marks the 20th anniversary of H&M’s guest designer collaborations. H&M is revisiting its most legendary collaborative collections to celebrate the anniversary through a special release of pre-loved items.  

H&M launched its first designer collection with Karl Lagerfeld, then creative director of Chanel, in 2004. The initiative revolutionized the fashion industry by making the work of the world’s greatest designers and brands accessible. Each collaboration has been unique, responding to the values and principles of the guest designer. 

“Our aim was to introduce the world of fashion to consumers globally, while showcasing our connection to strong, thoughtful and original design,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor, H&M. “It connects to the fundamental ethos of H&M: that quality and creativity should be available for everyone.”  

Shoppers have a second chance to access popular pieces from the acclaimed collaborations, through H&M’s pre-loved initiative. The items were sourced through partnerships with the online second-hand apparel marketplace, Sellpy, and global vintage retailers. Giving a second life to pre-loved garments is part of H&M’s commitment to moving toward a circular fashion economy through innovative sustainable solutions for customers.  

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“Through working with pre-loved pieces, we can bring these collections back to fashion fans giving them the chance to love these collections all over again, while introducing iconic fashion moments from H&M and the world’s top design talents to a new generation,” says Jörgen Andersson, creative director, H&M. 

The exclusive selection contains pieces from H&M guest designers like Viktor & Rolf to Versace, Marni to Moschino, Stella McCartney to Sonia Rykiel. The pre-loved pieces will launch in a series of drops in seven global stores and online. Each store activation will be an elevated experience that brings the collections to life in a fresh way. 

The designers featured within the re-release project are Karl Lagerfeld (2004), Stella McCartney (2005), Viktor & Rolf (2006), Roberto Cavalli (2007), Comme des Garçons by Rei Kawakubo (2008), Matthew Williamson (spring 2009), Jimmy Choo (fall 2009), Sonia Rykiel (spring 2010), Lanvin (fall 2010), Versace (2011), Marni (spring 2012), Maison Martin Margiela (fall 2012), Isabel Marant (2013), Alexander Wang (2014), Balmain (2015), KENZO (2016), Erdem (2017), Moschino (2018), Giambattista Valli (2019), Simone Rocha (2021), Toga Archives (2021), Mugler (spring 2023) and Rabanne (fall 2023).  

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