This was no everyday clothing launch: There was thumping music, muscled male dancers and a great wall of paparazzi planted on the pavement outside the Langham Hotel. The event was the unveiling of M by Madonna for Hennes & Mauritz.

On Tuesday night, the pop star — clad in a white Forties-style jersey dress of her own design — laid out the theory behind her new collection for the Swedish fast-fashion retailer.
“I wanted something casual but naughty, sensible but sexy. That’s me. That’s how I am. I wanted the collection to be for a working girl,” said Madonna in a not-so-quiet corner of the Artesian Bar at the hotel, near Oxford Circus.

“This is a combination of outfits I would love to wear. Bits and pieces have been inspired by the outfits in my own wardrobe, and also by what I love, like kimonos or my favorite Seventies vintage dress with the butterfly sleeves. I bought it in New York 10 years ago, and have worn it down to threads.”

The collection, Madonna’s second for H&M after her tracksuits launched last spring, features pieces in viscose jersey, silk rayon, cotton poplin, leather and Lycra.

The new M by Madonna line launches worldwide on March 22 and will be sold in 26 countries. An H&M spokeswoman said M by Madonna differs from the brand’s other celebrity collaborations — with Karl Lagerfeld, Viktor & Rolf and Stella McCartney — in that it will be sold in every H&M store that carries women’s wear, rather than in the flagships alone.

For complete coverage see tomorrow’s issue of WWD.

Source: Women Wear Daily.