Versace for H&M collection sells out in minutes

GALLERY: Celebrity designer collections

Versace’s highly anticipated collection for H&M went on sale in stores around the world overnight.

Hundreds of shoppers spent the night queuing on footpaths outside H&M stores in the UK.

In Dubai and Beijing there were reports of stores selling out of the collection in 30 minutes.

Many pieces showed up on online shopping site eBay soon after stores opened for business.

Donatella Versace, wearing one of her Versace x H&M designs, visited queuing fans at the Regent St store in London, while the H&M website crashed under the extra traffic.

Once allowed inside stores, shoppers were granted 10-minute windows to grab as many items as they could. Extra security were present to help keep the peace.

To prevent wide-scale on-selling of the celebrity line on auctions sites such as eBay, shoppers in the UK were permitted to buy only one size of a particular item. Shoppers were given wristbands displaying their 10-minute slot, and at many stores H&M staff counted down the minutes and blew whistles when time was up.

Outside of the UK in places including Beijing and Dubai however no restrictions were in place and items from the new collection quickly appeared on auction sites.

Prices for the collection, which was launched in New York last week, began at £19.99 for jewelry pieces to £199.99 for a leather jacket.

Previous celebrity designers who have collaborated with the high street retailer include Lanvin and Jimmy Choo.

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