Sonia Rykiel Pour H&M Looks Great in a Dark Restaurant

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Last night's Sonia Rykiel preview at West Village restaurant Bobo was more about atmosphere than clothes. The space is gorgeous, especially by candlelight, and organizers clearly decided to favor mood lighting over giving guests a good view of the line. A few mannequins lounged around in looks from the collection at the back of the second-floor mezzanine. It was hard to judge anything besides whether they looked cute in the dark (they did) but we were able to admire some trademark Rykiel details up close.

The striped sweater dress is definitely going to be the most popular element of the line, since it shouts "Rykiel" but only whispers "pour H&M." Some of the rhinestones on the other items looked a little silly, but the spangled striped dress is so bedazzled that it kind of works, especially in the flickering glow of the candles. Compared with Bobo's Thursday night crowd, the mannequins actually looked a tad underdressed—we saw a lot of little black cocktail dresses—but the restaurant's romantic, old-fashioned decor complemented them nicely. As with the lingerie, this isn't going to be the kind of collab that causes stampedes, but it should serve Rykiel fans just fine.
· Sonia Rykiel pour H&M Video Makes Stripes Looks Like Fun [Racked[
· Above the Fray: Total Lack of Chaos for Rykiel, H&M [Racked]