Something truly exciting is happening. Lanvin has decided to become a guest designer for H&M‘s Winter 2010 collection.

Lanvin is one of those art deco fashion houses that started with one woman who wanted to jazz things up for her and hers back in the day. Think of a more expressive Coco Chanel. She brought feminine embroidery, beautiful pastel-ey beadwork and plunging necklines to the landscape of 20’s fashion.

Behold:

Lanvin, 1926

Lanvin 1924 (both)

So back to H&M: The collection, and trust when I say this, is beautiful. Or you can see for yourself here!

But my god is it beautiful. Its loaded with ruffles and super feminine mini dresses. It has fur. It has animal patterned trench coats. It has men’s clothes! Really adorable sleek men’s suits. And. Best of all. Lipstick.

The truly distinctive thing about Lanvin is that the expressions of femininity are actually very much tied to the notion of the girl and the whimsy of youth, and I think this isn’t lost to too many designers even nowadays. Especially when you take into account Miu Miu and Prada, Marc Jacobs, and, to an extent, John Galliano…or new designers like Erin Fetherston or Luella. This idea of portraying the figure they see when designing a collection as a girl is most fascinating.

It is a woman. It is a girl. Many chose the woman. There is a seriousness associated with the woman. The woman is advanced, quietly alluring, conditioned, sometimes somber. The girl is not, she is uncalculating, playful and disarming. Her charm is effervescent.

The Newbury Street store is the only location in Boston that will feature the Lanvin collection. It comes out on November 20th.

I may have to take work off. And I don’t care who knows it.