So finally the day came! And as excited as I was, I still couldn’t justify starting to queue from the night before or even anytime before 8am! And it turns out I didn’t need to. As the insanity that surrounded Versace was nowhere to be seen.
On the way there I met Zid, who had 2 bags of Marni x H&M and of course I wanted to know what he got! Turns out, like me, he didn’t go crazy and bought what he really liked – the yellow shorts and the white daisy necklace which I sadly missed :-(
While Twitter was full
with rumours about the entire collection being sold out in just 20 minutes, I
had my doubts. In fact, reaching H&M at 9:30am (yes I need my morning
sleep!) the queue had only about 30 people. It seemed too good to be true, and
it turned out that this was secondary queue.
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| The queue for Marni x H&M at 11:00 am in Singapore |
The reason being. A whopping 490 hard-core fans who started queuing from the night before were given tags to come back and be the first to enter. I was in the queue that got in just after that.
To be honest, it didn’t seem too bad, I mean 2 and a half hours is OK. Plus when you have extremely helpful and friendly staff (even Ian, who is the showroom editor took the time to answer my questions and explain to me the process while I was queuing), it’s hardly similar to the fist fights I witnessed in other cities. We even got given water bottles around 11 which I thought was a really nice gesture.
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| The queue at 9:30 am was not too bad... |
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| But then kept increasing, seen here at around 10:30 |
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| The queue at its max around 11:20... just before I got in! |
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| Zid managed to get what he wanted! He was one of those who queued at 12 midnight and got given tags to come at 8am. |
And when the clock
struck 11:30, we were finally let in, in groups of 45. Inside we had to queue
for 10 minutes until the last batch of tag holders finished their 10 minute
allocated shopping time.
I don't know whether H&M have implemented a global policy, or whether it's just Singaporean efficiency, but the whole process went like clockwork. From the queue tags, to the limited store time and most importantly - a rule where only one piece per design was allowed.
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| One of the extremely helpful staff was handing water to the people in the queue |
Inside, it was very cheerful and organized as well, with the staff clapping every time a batch finished their 10 minutes of shopping and quickly reorganising all the items for the next one. It helps that they are probably are some of the friendliest shop assistants and staff I’ve encountered anywhere in the world!
Now to the shopping! Once we were set free, everybody in front of me in the queue went for the accessories which were the first thing on show! Sadly no necklaces were left at all and I ended up with 2 pairs of earrings - which I later whittled down to one (the yellow!)
Clothes-wise, there was a lot of stock! I went directly to the skirts and managed to find my size. Once I secured that from my wish-list, I started looking at the rest of the stuff! I managed to grab the matching silk top, the dress version of the silk skirt, the cute bodysuit and a pair of shoes and shiny trousers to try on.
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| Some shoppers took corners in the quieter 2nd floor of H&M to contemplate of few of the items after picking them... |
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| All was done in a very orderly manner |
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| These necklaces were in frint of me but sadly all gone before I could get my hands on any :-( |
In the fitting room, the dress looked unflattering on me while the skirt was a great fit and material. The matching top was also gorgeous but I decided to leave it as I know I’m probably not gonna wear it as often.
The one impression I was left with was the quality of the clothes and the materials. It was way, way, way above the over-hyped Versace collection in terms of wearability, quality and style.
And while Marni isn't a household brand, you'll definitely see people wearing this on the street. As I wandered home, I actually thought about whether I had seen a single person wearing the Versace collection since it came out. The answer was an emphatic no.
I’ll leave it to you to decide what looks good and what doesn’t with these pictures (please feel free to rate and slate in the comments section)
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| Out of curiousity I wanted to test the fit of these shiny trousers... I have to say better than expected! I kinda liked it but with no heels and top to match I decided to just give it a miss. |
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| The silk dress was really nice but didn't flatter me and looked kinda too baggy for my style... would definitely suit fuller figures better |
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| However the skirt fit great and the blouse looked nice as well but I felt was too matchy-matchy. But I would definitely go for the combo rather than the one piece dress. |
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| This bodysuit looked cute but was too tight on the bust and loose at the waist so I gave it a miss... |
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| The shoes were comfy, fit well and the material is great... but can't see myself wearing them... |
By the time I was leaving around 1pm, the barriers had been dismantled and all the remaining people were let in. it wasn’t as chaotic as you’d expect.
While at it, I met Evelyn who was behind me in the queue and took the day off to be able to grab some of the items from Marni x HM.
I was glad she got what she wanted, the printed maxi dress and the blue jacket (both were also in my list of the best to buy). I also think I did her a favour by discouraging her from getting the brown and beige top, which although nice, looked too similar to the dress and not that special.
Evelyn managed to email me her pictures in the fitting room (yes we all do that!) to give you a sneak peak of how her pieces fit as well!
So that's what happened in Singapore, but I've been collaborating with other bloggers across the world to see how it went down around the world:
Here's what happened in Los Angeles (Courtesy of Reyal Fashion)
Here's what happened in New York (Courtesy of Coucou Desiree)
Here's what happened in New York (Courtesy of Coucou Desiree)
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| Although a bit loose (no small sizes were left!), this dress looks nice on Evelyn especially if she wears it with a pair of heels and a belt. Might borrow it sometime ;-) |
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| Love love this jacket on her! perfect cut and goes with casual shorts as well as with an LBD underneath! definitely a great piece to invest in for the summer. |
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| Evelyn with her purchases! day off well-spent me thinks :-) |
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| And finally my purchases!!! happy I didn't go overboard and bought only the pieces that I know I love and would wear! |