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Viktor and Rolf Hearts H and M; Shoppers Do, Too

Calling their limited edition line for Swedish retail giant H and M "Love Comes and Goes, But Style is Forever," Dutch design duo Viktor and Rolf unveiled a collection on Thursday, November 9th, that was heavy on romantic embellishment.

"It's great fashion and it's really feminine," said writer Jamilla Davis of Viktor and Rolf's designs a few minutes after the 9 a.m. opening of H and M's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, her arms laden with merch. "I love hearts and bows and they're really big on hearts and bows."

It was, in fact, hard to find a Viktor and Rolf's women's item that was not festooned with one or the other, from the heart buckle on a pouf-skirted trench coat to the white, quilted-heart puffer jacket to the delicate bow print that snaked across t-shirts and sweaters to the outsized chiffon bow that engulfed the torso of the V and R wedding dress - the first in H and M's 59-year history (and, at $349, a relative steal compared to the duo's usual couture-level bridal price tags).

"People started lining up at 2 a.m.," said H and M spokesperson Jennifer Uglialoro from her post near the front door, while a DJ spun Jackson 5 tunes to enhance the "fashion love story" atmosphere. "And it seemed like everybody who lined up early wanted this wedding dress. The first person in line was here because his best friend is getting married and he wanted to get [her] the dress. We only have 25 in the store and 1000 in the entire world, so this is the place to be."

Judging by the crowd of hundreds that had turned out to get first dibs on the wedding dress and the rest of the 44-piece collection - which also includes a full men's line (the hearts and bows replaced by arrows pour homme) and ranges from $7.90 for a pair of women's panties to $299 for a men's tuxedo - H and M did indeed feel like fashion ground zero on this unseasonably warm November morn.

"I'm just visiting New York," said Greensboro, North Carolina resident Shirley Carr, who was back out on Fifth Avenue by 9:30 a.m., H and M shopping bag in hand. "I did not know [about the launch] but I saw the line of people, which is always enticing, and had to ask why they were here. I have a daughter who's 28 so I said, ‘I have to in and buy her something; Christmas is coming!' I knew she would love it. I got her a pair of Viktor & Rolf jeans and a t-shirt."

And naturally, Ms. Carr couldn't resist getting one of each for herself, as well, ensuring that she'll be the fashionable envy of all her friends back home.

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