Couture checked in to Manhattan's Pierre hotel on Thursday night as Alber Elbaz's Lanvin Hearts H&M collection met the catwalk. The room was decked with chandeliers, hydrangeas and a band with a songstress cooing in French, as attendees munched on sandwiches and sipped champagne. Lincoln Center, in wasn't.
A group of models dressed in higher-end versions of the line playfully took their turns on the runway -- including Vogue Nippon's Anna Dello Russo who trotted alongside a poodle. Elbaz previously told WWD, "We took a lot of things from our collection and translated them differently. We're seeing how you make it your own and elevate it. We customized a men's coat. It has new buttons." He added that the show was "stressful. Every [show] is like a wedding."
We'll be the first to say Mazel Tov, Alber. Afterward, guests were invited to a shopping party to purchase seven items or less from the diffusion line, which will hit selected H&M stores Saturday. If that madness was any indication of what's to come this weekend...we recommend bringing bottled water, the patience of a well-garbed Goddess and the love of Lanvin. And comfortable shoes...definitely comfortable shoes.
Check out images from Thursday night's show.