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H&M Balmain collaboration sells out as expected

By Kristopher Fraser

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Retail

H&M’s Balmain collaboration has been one of the most talked about things on the fashion calendar since it was announced in May. The anticipation for the collection had people pinching every penny in hopes that they would get their hands on that leather biker jacket or that beaded dress by Olivier Rousteing they always dreamed of. In New York City, getting your hands on this collection was one of the most difficult shopping experiences in the history of America's fashion capital.

For those thinking that getting there at 5 a.m. three hours before the stores opened would have helped them stand a chance, they should have thought again. Lines for the select H&M stores in Manhattan carrying the collection were wrapped around the corner by 12 a.m. already. The H&M flagship store on 34th Street in Herald Square had customers lined up around the corner even before the clock struck midnight.

One of the shortest lines for the collection was at the H&M Lexington Avenue location, but by 6 a.m. that line already had 127 customers. With each customer allowed a maximum of two pieces, that was a maximum of 254 items that looked could be subtracted from store inventory two hours before the store even opened.

The sensible option would seem to be waiting for the collection to go live online at 8 a.m. on H&M’s website, but think again. At 7:30, before the collection was even available online, H&M’s website had crashed, with a message saying: “We have a lot of visitors on the site right now. This is due to the high level of interest in our latest collection. We are working efficiently as possible to give you access. Please try again soon.”

You would think that with the previous collaborations that crashed the website, like Isabel Marant and Alexander Wang, H&M’s e-commerce team would be more prepared this time around. By 8:15 a.m. the website was slowly becoming more accessible to those trying to purchase the collection online, but by then a majority of the merchandise had sold out. By 12 p.m. EST, the entire Balmain H&M collection had sold out online.

Some users tried to use the H&M app, however that was giving an error message as well due to the high level of traffic.

In the New York stores, security was on duty well before 6 a.m. In some stores there were stampedes when H&M opened the doors, with people almost trampling over themselves trying to get their hands on whatever they could from the collection.

For those still looking to get their hands on the H&M Balmain collaboration, there is hope if you are willing to pay more than double the prices. Dresses that were 649 dollars or less at retail value are now going for over 1200 dollars on E-bay. Keep in mind that for 1200 dollars you can also purchase a Givenchy bag or a pair of Christian Louboutin heels, so 1200 dollars for an H&M collaboration might not be the best investment purchase.

photo:assignmentfashion.com
Balmain
H&M