Last night was a who's who of the Dublin social set as a host a familiar faces came out to play. My first port of call was to the much-anticipated opening party of the new H&M store on Mary Street, which incorporated the launch of the new Stella for H&M range by Stella McCartney.
The Stella McCartney collaberation, which follows the hugely successful autumn 2004 Karl Lagerfield collection, is for the autumn 2005 season and includes around 40 limited edition specially designed pieces. She launched her label in conjunction with the Gucci Group, but now her designs are more accessible than ever thanks to H&M, who are synonymous with affordable up-to-date fashions. Those at last night's party were the first in the world to buy this very special range.
The interior of the new Mary Street H&M is very funky, all bright colourful lights and cool wall graphics. Very bohemian, very Urban Outfitters. The store is packed to the rafters with great fashions for trend conscious girls and boys, with everything from hoodies in a variety of colours to faux fur and glitzy tops.
Guests enjoyed champagne and canapés as they made good use of the special 25%, which was available for the evening. I spotted singer and actress Samantha Mumba with an armful of clothes. She's obviously a fan. Others there included TV3 presenter Karen Koster, Roisin Ní Mhordha, publisher PJ Gibbons, Niall McCrudden, and Ruth Scott.
I bumped into Tonie Walsh, well-known DJ and club promoter, and we reminisced about the closure of HAM at The PoD last week. Ever the authority on the Irish clubbing scene, Tonie filled me in on the history of the legendary club night. Patrons included the Spice Girls, Lisa Stansfield, Boyzone (Shayne, Ronan and Stephen came down fairly regularly) and Holly Johnson. Tonie was responsible for turning The Chocolate Bar into The Abattoir (with big slices of bacon hanging from hooks over the bar and bar staff dressed in bloody aprons). HAM is dead, long live HAM!
At the launch I also spotted Richard Dins of H&M, Carol Hunt, Zoe Case and Bea Kelliher, all of whom were shaken by DJ Poppy Lloyd's eclectic mix - or was it Malachy Geelans eclectic mix? He took over the decks while she did some shopping!
Question of the night: Whose chauffeur driven Mercedes S-Class got a ticket from a patrolling Garda? Parked on a pedestrian street with no number plate on the front, the car was bound to attract unwanted attention. The couple can well afford to pay the fine, but should probably get rid of their lax driver.
