Stella frenzy at H&M

Minutes before opening time a sizeable group of Dutch Stella McCartney fans waits patiently outside one of the H&M's stores in the country's capital. "It's not that busy yet, is it," one girl mutters to a friend. Could it be that Stella does not possess the pulling power that her predecessor Karl Lagerfeld did? However, once the doors open and the masses start swarming in from all three entrances, all doubt over Stella's popularity is swept aside.

Within minutes, the racks are empty - literally. Shoppers have grabbed piles of Stella's silk tops and dresses, skinny jeans and blouson jackets without looking at sizes or styles. "It's just like with Lagerfeld. We had expected craziness, but it's still a strange sight to behold," says an employee of the mass hysteria as a second round of clothes is rolled onto the shop floor. "The shoppers just grab all the clothes they can and then go to the back of the store to sort through their winnings."

One shopper refuses to relinquish a chiffon top. "It's not my size, but I'm keeping it anyway," she says without shame. The message is obvious. Everyone wants to own a Stella McCartney for H&M original. The exclusivity is twofold: it's designer clothing and it's a one-off collection. It doesn't get much better than this.

In London, the queues are naturally longer - Stella is a national treasure - and the success of the line is just as great, if not greater than that of Karl Lagerfeld. Stella, with her posse of glamorous girlfriends like Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow, represents contemporary fashion and everyone wants a piece of her. And with her affordable line for H&M, those who could only stare wistfully at her clothes in shop windows, can now acquire that glamour. There is nothing more seductive than that. Many shoppers even forget that Stella's signature skinny pants are not designed for women with real curves, but for impossibly thin, tall models - and even then, they do not enhance the figure. But who cares when it's a Stella original?

This is the strength of the collaborations H&M has sought with star designers like Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld. The retailer recognizes that today's consumers are seduced as much by a name as by a solid product, and by creating one-off collections, retailer and designer alike create a frenzied shopping spree.

Who will be next on H&M's list of designers? Will there be another collaboration of this sort? I am personally hoping for Alber Elbaz. How about you?