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We've read all the books in Stieg Larsson's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, but none ever got us thinking about fashion. So we were intrigued to check out the launch party for H&M's Dragon Tattoo Collection by Trish Summerville. Could a movie, based on one of the novels, inspire clothing that people would want to wear?
The answer is yes. The party, held in the collection's stylishly grungy new pop-up shop, was significantly lower-key than H&M's recent over-the-top Versace launch. Despite this, the crowd loved the clothes. So much so that when we first arrived, we thought everyone had been given over-stuffed gift bags. Then we realized that those were actually shopping bags—most of the guests were snapping up the clothing as soon as they saw it.
The collection's designer, Trish Summerville, is the costume designer for the film The Girl With the Dragoon Tattoo, and her collection was inspired specifically by the movie's anti-heroine, Lisabeth Salander. It's a stylized street punk look—think AllSaints, not Hot Topic. The collection includes ripped sweaters and distressed black denim, outerwear in wool, leather, and pleather, Dr. Martens-style boots and tons of hoodies—all in shades of gray, black, white and a reddish brown.
Prices start at $3.95 for black plastic earrings and go up to $200 for a leather biker jacket with dramatically padded shoulders. While the placement of the padding seems like it would make the wearer look like a linebacker, it's actually surprisingly slimming—and therefore worth multiple times its price. The collection also includes matching biker-style leggings for $24.95, which were the hottest selling item of the evening. Even party guest and What Not To Wear style guru Stacy London was drawn to them.
The shop itself has a lot of creative details. There's a cyber café with a faux computer hacking program, a complimentary coffee bar, and a photo booth. While guests shop the collection, they can watch extended trailers for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and even look through a window into a "living room" where a model, attired as Lisbeth Salander, sits bound in chains watching scenes from the film. (Creepy!) Unfortunately, the pop-up shop will only be open from December 14th through the 16th, so if you want to experience it, you'll have to go soon.
We confess, we did notice one problem with the launch. Since the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo takes place in Sweden, we thought the party's music might include tracks by edgy obscure Swedish garage or metal bands. Instead, the DJ played tunes by Bowie, Cee Lo Green and Bananarama. We love Bananarama, but we're not sure "Cruel Summer" was the perfect fit for the dark, Swedish, winter collection.
· Dragon Tattoo Collection by Trish Summerville For H&M [Official Site]
· Win Tickets to the Premiere of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo [Racked New York]
· H&M's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Shop Will Offer Computer Hacking, Somehow [Racked NY]
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