The Madonna collection

Material Girl vogues it up with line of clothes at H&M

Madonna can finally dress us up in her love.

On March 22, the first capsule collection of clothes composed by the iconic trendsetter hits the shelves at H&M outposts around the world - including 10 New York area stores.

In an exclusive first peek at the highly anticipated "M by Madonna" line, we fell for key pieces including a range of slick belted trench coats ($99.90-$298), a vampy black jersey evening dress ($59.90) and the super-skinny black pants ($59.90) that are one of Madonna's signature looks.

And that, says H&M's design chief Margareta van den Bosch, isn't a coincidence.

The Material Girl and van den Bosch spent days combing through the superstar's well-appointed closets, selecting the strongest staples to use as inspiration for the 30-piece collection.

"Madonna has a remarkable feel for fashion and trends," says van den Bosch. "She was involved in even the smallest details of the design."

Prices range from $12.90 for a turban to $298 for a leather coat. Other hot picks - which are bound to create the kind of frenzy H&M witnessed last November when Viktor & Rolf's capsule collection turned into a stiletto-riot as shoppers clamored for limited-edition goodies - include a slimming pencil skirt ($49.90), sexy satin shirts ($49.90), movie-star shades ($34.90), a satin bomber jacket ($59.90) and a super assortment of dresses ($34.90-$59.90).

M by Madonna is the latest of several recent collaborations for H&M. Karl Lagerfeld created an exclusive collection for the stores in 2004 and Stella McCartney followed suit a year later. But Madonna's the first celeb - with no designing experience - to infiltrate the superstore's shelves.

That, predicts Ashley Baker, a style editor at Glamour magazine, shouldn't be a problem.

The collection will be "a slam-dunk business venture for Madonna and the clothing company," Baker explains. "For Madonna, it expands her portfolio of things that she can do successfully. And for H&M, it's a way to get customers into their store that maybe have never been to their store before. They have a presence in the United States certainly, but right now they're really concentrated on the coasts. This Madonna collaboration, I think much more so than Viktor & Rolf, is going to interest people in the fly-over states."

Madonna's a kind of fashion everywoman, after all, alternating costly couture with street-worthy sweats. "When she shows up at events, she's wearing expensive designer clothes," says Baker. "But when you see her on the street, you'll see her often in an Adidas track suit and a pair of sneakers. I think she's trying to take that street sensibility and bring it to a mass audience."

M by Madonna goes on sale Thursday, March 22. Doors open at 10 a.m. but be warned, the long lines will start forming as early as the night before.

Gina Salamone, NY Daily News