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Versace for H&M: the review

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The latest cheap chic collaboration, Versace for H&M, may be the best Versace collection to come along in years -- more Gianni than Donatella, more South Beach than Milano.

The collection hits stores Nov. 17, and you can bet there is going to be a stampede. I love the bright baroque patterns and sexy body-conscious cuts, both signatures of the Versace brand’s heyday in the 1980s and ‘90s. The mixed tropical prints on skintight pants and minidresses are right on trend for spring. (Until the weather warms, shoppers may have to rock their Versace for H&M on the dance floor instead of the street.)

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The collection is a greatest hits retrospective of sorts, with the slinky black gown with gold hardware ($149) evoking Gianni’s famous safety pin dress from 1994, made famous by Elizabeth Hurley.

The shrunken studded leather biker jacket looks as if it has a great fit, and I love the silk miniskirt with Versace’s iconic Greek key motif on the hem. I will have to see it in person, but from the photos the leather seems as if it would be buttery soft, which is amazing for the price ($299 for the leather jacket and minidress).


The accessories are pretty fun, including chunky bracelets and chokers, sculpted flower rings, silk scarves and purses with heavy chain handles and palm tree prints.

Oh yeah, and there’s some men’s stuff too --including a black-and-white Op Art print shirt and matching pants that are nothing short of amazing -- for the guy who dares to wear!

Will the collection be as big a seller as Lanvin for H&M in 2010? Possibly. But Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz’s designs were more forgiving. H&M makes clothes for the masses, and not all the masses have the bodies for body-con.

--Booth Moore

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All images courtesy of Versace for H&M.

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