Oh, Roberto: Fisticuffs At H&M Herald Square

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It's been a few hours since our trip to the H&M flagship this morning for the Roberto Cavalli launch and we're finally coming down from the adrenaline rush. We'll never forget the frantic atmosphere inside the store, where we tried to avoid being trampled by hundreds of aggro shoppers who were behaving as if they were completely off their rockers while Cavalli, the leathery man responsible for all the mayhem, looked on from above like a puppet master. It seems as if all of the stores were mobbed today, as a Racked reader reports that the retailer's 34th Street location was also chaotic:

Thought you might enjoy a snapshot of what went down at the 34th St HM this morning. Not unlike the 51st St shop (except for an appearance by the man himself) the 34th St store was a madhouse. The doors opened promptly at 10 followed by: (1) if not more women punched in the face; multiple people tackled to the ground; grab everything and go, by all; and the women's department purged of everything (minus underwear and a few accessories) in 6 minutes flat. By the way, the men's department was the eye of the storm. No grabbing, no physical contact and even the ability to analyze tags for size and price. As of 10:30 men's department was not fully depleted. P.S. Overheard in line the strategy to "take-all and return-most" was most popular.

Also at the Herald Street H&M was Flickr member wEnDaLicious, who snapped the above photo for the Racked Flickr Pool. Her report: "OMG...I am still traumatized by the frenzy of this morning's crowd of crazy women." We hear ya.
· Oh, Roberto: The Complete And Utter Madness [Racked]
· Oh, Roberto: Cavalli Greeting His Fans [Racked]
· Oh, Roberto: Jessica Stam Is Happy, Somewhat Vacant [Racked]
· Oh, Roberto: We're Inside! 'Bitch, I'm Gonna Cut You!' [Racked]
· Oh, Roberto: 'Line is Moving,' T-Minus 15 Minutes [Racked]
· Oh, Roberto: The Pre-Opening Madness [Racked]