In a word, no. But judge for yourself – check out the photos of the next installment of Versace for H&M, which lands on 19th January, in the gallery below.
Remember back in November when I reported on the inaugural Versace for H&M collection, which severely divided blogger opinion? One called it ‘the worst idea on the planet, ever.’ That didn’t stop punters queuing over night to get their hands on the goods when they hit shops, but when I was in H&M a month later there still seemed to be plenty of Versace bits hanging around – I wasn’t surprised to see a load of those particularly tacky little pink studded bags sitting there unsold. Maybe Donatella Versace and Margareta van den Bosch (head creative honcho at H&M) took note, because for the second round they’ve ditched the megawatt brights and heritage prints in favour of an altogether cooler and less in-your-face approach.
They’re calling it cruise, but this collection has a decided spring in its step: colours are soft and macaroon-esque, there’s a cute recurring fruit salad print and there are even a couple of bikinis. It’s a vast improvement on the first collection if you ask me, but it’s not without a few clangers – the white and gold jeans are very ‘WAG’ and the jewellery looks tacky. On the other hand, the prices are more appealing – most dresses are £39.99 whereas they were up to £100 first time round. And, even better, it’s going to be available online only so you won’t have to queue for hours or fight with the fanatics on the shop floor to ensure you get what you want.
The second Versace for H&M capsule collection of 38 pieces (24 for women and 14 for men) will be sold exclusively online at www.hm.com and will be available on 19th January.
