Top designers do high street

by Emma Bower

In the hope of making some pre-Christmas profits, the run up to Christmas brings a myriad of has-beens writing autobiographies, bands reforming and releasing greatest hits albums and top designers and celebrities jumping on the high street bandwagon to design limited edition collections accessible to the masses.

The last decade has seen a plethora of top-end designers collaborating with high street stores such as Topshop and H&M to bring a touch of couture design to the general public.

The list includes Roberto Cavalli; Viktor and Rolf; Julian McDonald; Matthew Williamson; Madonna; Christopher Kane and model turned designer Kate Moss.

London College of Fashion graduate and internationally renowned shoe designer, Jimmy Choo is the latest name to be dazzled by the sterling and the thought of millions of mere mortals queuing for hours for a piece of his art.

As Choo’s range opened in London stores November 14, many grown women fought for their chance to own a pair of his shoes or clutch one of his bags. Choo’s exclusive feet candy was made famous in the Nineties thanks to TV show Sex and the City.

But with prices ranging from £30 for jewellery to £200 for clothes, boots and bags at H&M, can these Jimmy Choo items be considered as valuable as the real McCoy?

No, not really. It can't hold the same status as a real Jimmy Choo product when half the female population will be sporting it and the other half will know where it came from. Not to mention that the quality and workmanship are nowhere on par with the  genuine Jimmy Choo item when the price tag is only a fraction of the real thing.

The question is: even if Jimmy Choo has put his name to an item, is there really much difference between those and the regular mass produced designs produced by H&M?

Supermarkets are in on it

Even supermarket Sainsbury's had women camping overnight to get their hands on Anya Hindmarch's 'I'm Not a Plastic Bag' eco-friendly carrier. With a limited stock of the £5 bag, only a lucky few managed to buy one.

The bag soared in value after the launch and could be purchased on Ebay for way over the initial price. Since then, every market in London sold fake versions.

But probably the most anticipated collection is Kate Moss for Topshop which has proved a hit each season since its launch in 2007.

Her Christmas collection has recently arrived in stores and is still a big event for the fashion savvy with its seventies rock’n’roll designs.

Are we that mad about owning a designer piece to the point that we will flock to these stores, queue for hours and pay inflated prices simply for a nametag? It appears so, as the Noughties' generation of fashionistas would do anything for a slice of exclusive glamour which enables us to emulate the lives of the rich and famous.