H&M toast Maison Martin Margiela collaboration with avant-garde party in New York

If Maison Martin Margiela made buildings, they would probably look exactly like the dilapidated behemoth picked to celebrate the French brand's collaboration with high street chain H&M yesterday evening.

A nine-floor property compete with crumbling facades, peeling paintwork and hole-embellished ceilings in Manhattan's downtown - and apparently newly-hip - business district represented the brand's signature deconstructed and oversized aesthetic as starry faces belonging to Sarah Jessica Parker, Selma Blair and Kanye West negotiated the health hazard-like space.

The dilapidated Manhattan venue

Trompe l'oeil art installations (think Margiela for H&M-clad figures emerging from the walls wrapped in a sheet of plaster) and framed pictures peppered the vast space, which also played host to New York's most outgoing fashion folk, DJ's (Leigh Lezark) and models (we spotted Doutzen Kroes, Marina Linchuk and Eniko Malik sporting their effortless brand of 'look! no make-up!').

Whilst A Single Man actress Julianne Moore sadly wasn't up for publicly sharing her thoughts on the one-off collaboration, a resplendent Selma Blair, who posed for pictures with her actress partner in crime Mena Suvari, was only too happy to wax lyrical about the stylish union.

"This is so much bang for your buck" Blair said of the collection, which is wholly formed of re-editions of iconic Maison Martin Margiela pieces since the brand's inception in 1989.

IN PICTURES: First look at Maison Martin Margiela for H&M lookbook

Sporting a black, horizontally-proportioned dress, the Cruel Intentions star told us: "This was the one [outfit] that made me laugh the most and made me cry when I tried to get into it tonight. I kept trying to put my hands through the sleeves, and you're not supposed to!"

The highlight of the evening was a performance by the Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker dance company, which saw Maison Martin Margiela with H&M-clad dancers dramatically derobe and create patterns choreographed upon a white, sand-lined floor space with a contrasting black background. The courtyard disposition of the building ensured a visual feast for all those positioned on the creaking, wrought-iron balconies overlooking the fleeting stage.

Some Margiela sculptures at the party

Finally, a beautiful cascade of chunky metallic paillettes acted as a symbolic frame to the unique evening - which like the collection, remains inimitable.

READ: Maison Martin Margiela for H&M campaign unveiled

The Maison Martin Margiela with H&M range launches online and in selected H&M stores worldwide on November 15.

Via: H&M toast Maison Martin Margiela collaboration with avant-garde party in New York