It was one of those legendarily lavish Bel Air weddings, fit for royals. And not unlike many high-profile L.A. unions, it was predicated on a fictitious love affair and garnered scads of media attention. This time the couple was design house Viktor & Rolf and retailer H&M, and the wedding-style party at a private mansion celebrated the designers’ collection, which includes a $350 bridal gown and a tuxedo and will be offered for a short time in the stores.“The Viktor & Rolf for H&M collection is based on a love theme, the love of the two brands and the love of fashion joining together for a brief intense love affair,” said Jennifer Uglialoro, the head of H&M’s U.S. special events, who oversaw the party. (Viktor & Rolf joins such hotshot designers as Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney, who have also done lines for H&M.) Bureau Betak handled the production for the party and fashion show.
To celebrate the union, H&M hosted a reception for guests like style arbiters Kanye West, Chloe Sevigny, and the Olson twins, complete with a receiving line on the red carpet, white rose petal-strewn pathways, and a white Rolls Royce parked out front. The recorded sounds of trotting horses beckoned guests to enter the foyer and venture behind the house, where a champagne fountain towered alongside the house’s existing fountain on the level above the tennis court, which served as the main party space. (We last saw this tennis court incarnated as an animal-printed lounge for the Cavalli vodka launch.) Piper-Heidsieck Champagne flowed at white-draped bars.
Fully tented, draped in billowy fabric, and carpeted in white, the tennis court featured a crystal chandelier overhead and a stage, where a string orchestra played a mix of classical music by the likes of Beethoven and modern pop tunes—we picked out Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love,” and Micheal Jackson’s “Billy Jean.” (The stunt recalled Marie Antoinette’s 1980’s-tinged film score.) It also featured a center runway with a giant four-tiered faux wedding cake at the end, flanked by curving white staircases from which the models descended and ascended when they took their walks to show off the goods in the collection. The last model donned the collection’s diaphanous bridal gown—and tossed her white bouquet into the crowd as confetti canons gushed white rose petals over the masses in dramatic—ahem—fashion.
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 11.01.06
Photos: WireImage
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To celebrate the union, H&M hosted a reception for guests like style arbiters Kanye West, Chloe Sevigny, and the Olson twins, complete with a receiving line on the red carpet, white rose petal-strewn pathways, and a white Rolls Royce parked out front. The recorded sounds of trotting horses beckoned guests to enter the foyer and venture behind the house, where a champagne fountain towered alongside the house’s existing fountain on the level above the tennis court, which served as the main party space. (We last saw this tennis court incarnated as an animal-printed lounge for the Cavalli vodka launch.) Piper-Heidsieck Champagne flowed at white-draped bars.
Fully tented, draped in billowy fabric, and carpeted in white, the tennis court featured a crystal chandelier overhead and a stage, where a string orchestra played a mix of classical music by the likes of Beethoven and modern pop tunes—we picked out Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love,” and Micheal Jackson’s “Billy Jean.” (The stunt recalled Marie Antoinette’s 1980’s-tinged film score.) It also featured a center runway with a giant four-tiered faux wedding cake at the end, flanked by curving white staircases from which the models descended and ascended when they took their walks to show off the goods in the collection. The last model donned the collection’s diaphanous bridal gown—and tossed her white bouquet into the crowd as confetti canons gushed white rose petals over the masses in dramatic—ahem—fashion.
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 11.01.06
Photos: WireImage
Related Stories
Fashion Week’s Creative Ideas Off the Runways
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H&M threw a wedding-style party to celebrate its marriage with design house Viktor & Rolf.
Pathways strewn with rose petals welcomed guests.
A white Rolls Royce stood sentinel near a receiving line on the white carpet.
A chandelier hung over the main party space, which took over the mansion’s tennis court.
A working fountain—a fixture at the house—was dolled up with white flowers.
Champagne flowed from a towering fountain.
White roses overflowed from a swan-decor piece on the main bar.
The final model to walk the runway wore a bridal gown from the collection—and tossed a white bouquet into the crowd.
