Madonna on
Thursday joined the parade of celebrities with their own
fashion lines, but the material girl who used to shock
audiences with her outrageous outfits kept to a
mainstream tune.
Madonna's
much-anticipated clothing line, "M by Madonna," went on
sale at the low-priced Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz
AB's stores around the world on Thursday.
Excited shoppers
in New York City, where Madonna began her career, queued
up about 30 minutes before the H&M store on Manhattan's
ritzy Fifth Avenue opened, in order to be among the
first to see the diva's collection.
Within two hours
some items, including belts and small purses, had sold
out, said one sales associate.
Another hot
seller was a white double-breasted trench coat, which
Madonna, who codesigned the line for the Swedish company,
wears in the campaign's advertisements.
"That white silky
coat is gorgeous, I think my daughter, who is 19,
would love it," said Mary Taylor, a public relations
executive, who was among the curious.
But many shoppers
were not as enthusiastic about the range of styles,
expecting a clothing line designed by the singer, actress,
and author to be more adventurous.
Madonna, who has
been a taste-maker for more than two decades, has
shocked audiences throughout her career with daring styles
that have included lacy bras and crucifixes and a Jean
Paul Gaultier-designed cone bustier.
"I was expecting
the clothes to be a little more fashion-forward, I
have to say, because she is such an icon and I heard it was
based on her own closet," said Daniela Maron, a
fashion publicist combing the Fifth Avenue store's
racks for a cream-colored sequined mini dress donned
by a mannequin.
That dress, one
of the standout pieces in the mostly solid monochromatic
collection, sold out early, according to a sales associate.
"A lot of people
came in, but as for buying, it's been half-and-half,"
said Juan Tinch, an H&M sales associate. "There
have been a lot of purchases but also a lot of returns."
Hennes &
Mauritz, among the first retailers to bring trendy fashions
to main street wallets, has had home-runs with its
exclusive, limited lines by heavy-hitters Stella
McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld and cult label Viktor
& Rolf.
The Viktor &
Rolf and McCartney launches were "totally chaotic,"
Tinch said. "This has been a little more calm and
collected."
Lisa Sandberg, a
U.S. spokeswoman for Hennes & Mauritz, whose
chairman, Stefan Persson, is the 17th-richest person in the
world, said the difference was because the collection
is in all H&M stores that carry women's wear
and not just a few.
"What this means
is that although it's a one-off collection, more
H&M customers will have the opportunity to find M by
Madonna in their local H&M store and should also
be able to purchase a piece without being the first
shopper in line," Sandberg said in an e-mail.
But for Sara
Axelsson, a New York-based lawyer who went to see
Madonna's line, the collection was not unique enough
to justify a purchase.
"The Stella
McCartney line was much more different than the usual
H&M stuff," Axelsson said.
Other clothing
lines designed by fashionable celebrities, who are not
themselves designers, include Sarah Jessica Parker's line at
Steve & Barry's and model Kate Moss's line with
the U.K. retailer Topshop.
"Obviously,
[celebrities] help enormously, whether it be if they're
fronting a product or have worn it, but of course it takes
away from the cachet level," said Maron about the
trend of low-priced retailers selling collections
designed by icons.
"But I'm
definitely buying something, even if I never wear it,"
Maron said. "Just to have it-anything for Madonna."
(Martine Geller, Reuters)