(By Elisa Cecchi).
Rome's luxury shopping district this week celebrated the opening of a megastore housing two high-end labels owned by Sweden's low-cost group H&M: & Other Stories and COS.
The three-story-high store is located on the elegant Via Borgognona in a building that formerly housed Fendi.
Right around the corner is H&M's 6,000-square-meter store inaugurated last year in a 1901 building at the corner between Via Tomacelli and Via del Corso, which was renovated by star architect Massimiliano Fuksas.
The two labels making their debut in Rome have gained an international following among the fashion set due to their affordable, sleek style with a strong core of basics, which can be easily mistaken for looks straight out of deluxe fashion houses such as Céline or Stella McCartney.
In the new Via Borgognona store, the brands have two separate display sections and windows.
An internal door, however, gives shoppers easy access to beauty products, ready-to-wear collections for women, men and children and accessories from both worlds.
The & Other Stories collections were conceived by a team of 30 young designers.
At the Rome debut, the team was represented by two creative directors, Italian-Swiss designer Luca La Rocca, who oversees the accessories line in Paris, and Sweden's Sara Hildén-Bengtsson, who is in charge of the ready-to-wear and store concept of & Other Stories and works from the Stockholm headquarters.
She previously worked at Liberty and Kenzo.
"The brand has four different concepts for ready-to-wear, always inspired by four capitals worldwide: Paris, New York, Stockholm and Berlin", said Hildén-Bengtsson.
Each season, small collections are designed according to inspirations connected to these cities' "moods", she said.
The objective is for clients of all ages to mix and match pieces from diverse collections "to create different stories". "We design six collections a year, for women across a wide age range, from very young to mature", said the creative director.
Inspirations vary, from the increasingly relevant street-styles to art, with a special eye on the quality of fabrics and on the environment.
The label, said Hildén-Bengtsson, uses only eco furs, paper bags and as little packaging as possible to respect the environment.
Also, clients who bring back empty beauty product packaging get a 10% discount on their next purchase.
All cosmetics are made in Italy, while some ready-to-wear garments and accessories are produced in China and Turkey.
Beauty products, said Hildén-Bengtsson, are tested and allergy-safe.
Minimalism is also the core philosophy of the stores' interior design.
The brand produces four accessory collections a year, La Rocca said.
"All leathers used for shoes and bags are from Italy, while production shifts between Italy and China, depending on how complex the design is", he explained.
The brand & Other Stories also invests in up-and-coming talents with four to six capsule collections designed every year by young international designers.
The label, which was launched in March 2013, has so far opened 16 stores worldwide, including Rome, the second to debut in Italy after Milan.
Next week, the brand will inaugurate its 17th shop in Madrid.
H&M's higher-end brand COS (Collection Of Style) launches two collections a year for women, men and children.
Designers Karin Gustafsson and Martin Andersson are behind its innovative aesthetic and mission to provide understated wardrobe staples.
The clothes are conceived for a broad age target with clean designs and quality at a low price point - a halfway minimalism with no exact reference to seasonal trends yet an attention to detail that always makes its core basics fresh.
The Rome store is the sixth in Italy and 109th worldwide.
COS will also be inaugurating a store in Melbourne, Australia, next week and another in New York's Soho in December.
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