H&M announce Rabanne collaboration with blow-out Paris bash — and Cher

Resilient fashionistas who survived until the bitter end of Paris Fashion Week had one party in mind on its penultimate evening. A cryptic invitation had offered hints; it was simply called ‘Private Concert’, and named Cher, Robyn and Peggy Gou as performers.

Rumours blazed. The most popular belief was that Cher would announce a capsule collection with fast fashion brand H&M, following in the tracks of Naomi Campbell for Pretty Little Thing and Rita Ora for Primark, both of whom launched one-off designs for the companies this fashion month. Not so.

Ashley Graham, Irina Shayk and Elle Fanning at the H&M x Rabanne party (H&M)

The Swedish high street giant’s next collaboration will actually be with the house of Rabanne (formerly Paco Rabanne), best known for its chainmail disc gowns, and will be on sale on November 9 this year. H&M is renowned for its luxury partnerships which famously began with Karl Lagerfeld in 2004 and have recently included sell-outs with Mugler, Simone Rocha and Erdem.

At Paris’s Silencio nightclub, Cher certainly did sing: the hits, ‘Believe’, as well as a plug for her new single ‘DJ Play a Christmas Song’, from her upcoming festive album. And inside an A-list crowd doubled as models showing off the new collaboration.

Cher performs to an A-list crowd at the H&M x Rabanne launch party in Paris (H&M)

Key pieces include Cher’s spun silver and black Napoleonic jacket; Irina Shayk’s silver and gold armour-style disc dress; Jared Leto’s overcoat complete with faux fur collar and sleeve trims, Iris Law’s candy-pink, fuzzy vest and cardigan with crystal embellishments, Alton Mason’s R-logo splashed black and orange striped tracksuit and Elle Fanning’s ankle-grazing, silver chainmail-style gown.

Tina Kunakey and Alton Mason at the H&M x Rabanne party (H&M)

These all remain true to the vision of Rabanne’s creative director, Julien Dossena, who revived the house in 2014. He found success in uprooting key elements from the house archive, which made its name in the 1960s with Space Age designs.

“Rabanne has always been a joyful brand,” says Dossena. “I always want people to feel liberated when they wear our clothes, so it was great to see guests having fun and embracing the collection’s hedonistic spirit.” Just don’t ask Cher’s fee.