H&M has added another ampersand to its business portfolio. This one, though, is at a higher end than the attire found in the chain’s more than 2,000 locations worldwide.
& Other Stories launched on March 8th with a bash in London, where the new brand will have its first brick-and-mortar store that will offer the brand’s first clothing line as well as a number of products from other labels and designers. Called C-labs, these temporary partnerships include such companies as The Lake & Stars lingerie, Clare Vivier’s bags and accessories, Alyson Fox’s jewelry and fashion designs by Abigail Lorick Im, WWD reports. “We like working with people who we like,” Anna Teurnell, & Other Stories’ head of design, told WWD. “And these labels complement what we have already.”
Here Campaign video:
H&M announced plans for the new brand last spring, while also breaking the news that it would delay its plans for e-commerce in the U.S. The spinoff store was developed with H&M's particularly fashion-conscious customers in mind, who often swoop in to scoop up diffusion lines that H&M creates with high-end fashion designers. & Other Stories joins the H&M stable of brands, which also includes Cos, Cheap Monday and Monki.
The new brand seems to be scoring points with folks in the industry already, as Verdict Research associate Kirstin Stocker told WWD, "& Other Stories will widen H&M’s appeal to consumers in their 30s and 40s—better competing with Zara’s mix of fashion and strong tailoring."
Racked.com reports that & Other Stories plans to build its brand "around four fashion 'tribes,' which include 'Minimalism & Contradiction,' 'Industrial & Effortless,' 'Sophisticated & Architectural' and 'Poetic & Dandy.'"
Here the first LookBook:
Source: http://www.brandchannel.com