Inside Stella McCartney and H&M’s New York Celebration With Reneé Rapp, Janelle Monáe

The brands celebrated their second collaboration at a club in Chelsea on Wednesday night with Amelia Gray, Lila Moss and more.​The brands celebrated their second collaboration at a club in Chelsea on Wednesday night with Amelia Gray, Lila Moss and more. 

More than 20 years after debuting their first collaboration, Stella McCartney and H&M decided it was time for an encore. And, naturally, a party.

The brands reunited in New York on Wednesday night to take their upcoming collection, available on May 7, out on the town for a test spin at a club in Chelsea. Pieces from the collaboration were worn by models and friends of the brand, including Reneé Rapp, Yasmin Wijnaldum, Lila Moss, Amelia Gray, Charlotte Lawrence, Julez Smith and Lux Pascal.

“I had a very late fitting. I had just flown in, and I was like, ‘I’m scared everything’s gonna be taken. Everyone definitely raided all the looks,’” said Gray. Luckily, there was plenty to go around. “I walked into the showroom and I said: ‘I want that.’ I saw it on the mannequin,” added Gray, describing her sequined fringe bra top.  

The model has a busy few days ahead: she came straight from set, and is headed back to set in the morning, before flying 20 hours for another shoot. And then it’s back to New York on Saturday to prepare for the Met Gala.

“ It’s gonna be my favorite Met Gala ever,” said Gray. “I’m very excited. I have a beautiful team of people that have been working really hard to make my vision come to light.  The theme is kind of up for interpretation.  It’s art in the eye of the beholder. Because it’s not as finite, there’s this ability to play and collaborate, which I really love.”

“Party” and “collaboration” described the theme on Wednesday night. Inside the packed red-lit room, servers were passing around boxes of Stella x H&M branded pizza boxes as a lineup of DJs including Mark Ronson, Zuri Marley and Daisy O’Dell took the stage throughout the evening. Shortly after Stella McCartney’s arrival, alongside Janelle Monáe, British rapper Dave marked the event’s halfway point with a surprise performance for the lively crowd.

“We’ve been dressing a lot of people and just having fun. We are good at throwing parties,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s head of design and creative adviser, describing the evening’s scene. “Good music, good entertainment, very great DJs. So it’s just a fun evening together. And I think we need that more than ever.”