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The most fashionable red carpet of the year rolled out last night, inviting celebrities and socialites to show off for the 2015 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in designs by Moschino, Zac Posen, and … H&M.
The fast-fashion retailer made a strong first appearance on the Met Gala red carpet this year, dressing five stars for the event. But you can rest assured Anna Wintour didn’t raise a sculpted eyebrow in revulsion. Among the five were Sarah Jessica Parker, no fashion slouch, who wore a dress she designed in collaboration with H&M.
.@SJP in a dress she designed in collaboration with H&M @ the #MetGala, featuring conscious materials. pic.twitter.com/gBuGVrwLn8
— H&M (@hm) May 5, 2015
In a writeup on the retailer’s own H&M Life blog, the retailer detailed the features of the dress, including an embroidered panel made from sustainable fabric, something that the brand believes “highlight[s] H&M’s vision of making fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable.”
Custom-made H&M dresses were also worn by actress Vanessa Hudgens and singers Banks and Janelle Monae. New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. wore a custom velvet suit. But even when it’s on the red carpet, H&M isn’t denying its position an aspirational brand that produces off-the-runway imitations.
“It has been an honor and a pleasure for H&M to take part in fashion’s most prestigious event of the year. Each of our specially designed outfits both captures the mood of the exhibition, and shows the aspirational side of fashion that is so important to H&M,” Pernilla Wohlfahrt, H&M’s Head of Design, told Digiday.
H&M tweeted about each star’s outfit, but they weren’t the only ones showing excitement — and surprise — that an affordable clothier was so visible on one of fashion’s most prominent nights. H&M was mentioned along with the Met Gala more than 2,000 times on Monday night, and conversation volume around the brand increased by 23 percent from April 21 to May 4, according to social analytics firm Crimson Hexagon.
While Sarah Jessica Parker was the biggest sartorial surprise when she showed up in H&M, it was Vanessa Hudgens who garnered the most H&M buzz on Twitter, with 630 mentions of her handle @vanessahudgens appearing alongside H&M and Met Gala in tweets. (Although nothing made made quite as strong an impression on the Internet as Rihanna’s non-H&M dress.)
It probably didn’t hurt that 40 percent of those tweeting about H&M and the Met Gala were under 17, according to the data.
Vanessa Hudgens wore H&M to the Met Gala….so apparently I could have afforded to go. — Rah Elizabeth (@SarryPotterr) May 5, 2015
Stars, they’re just like us — if you don’t take into consideration that a ticket to the gala will set you back $25,000.
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