JKR

High street fashion brands’ buying into the magic and excitement of haute couture with famous-name capsule collections is now established practice rather than newsworthy novelty. It obviously works, as lines outside the shops attest to (even if said queues are cynically manufactured through deliberate limited availability at odds with the “designer brands at accessible outlet prices” story which was supposedly the exercise’s point).

In the vanguard of this approach are H&M, with Matthew Williamson just the latest in a list of collaborators such as Comme des Garcons, Stella McCartney, Madonna and Karl Lagerfeld. But while it’s on brand for H&M to appear fashion savvy, the commissions seem scattergun and the results reflect the designer’s signature look rather than relating to anything in the H&M brand. As such one wonders if the reflected glory on H&M will be quite fleeting.

Conversely, Topshop’s tie-ins do feel like they contribute to the spirit of the brand – working with Biba founder Barbara Hulanicki (below) and Kate Moss contributes to the (London) girl about town image of the brand in a more distinctive way. Somehow the Topshop bag graphics, which themselves echo the feel of 60′s designs such as Nova magazine, feel of a part with a Biba tie in. As such, Topshop is arguably building an equity that outlasts this season’s hot frock.