--- title: This Is H&M's Most Expensive Single Item Ever description: H&M has the fashion press buzzing with its most expensive item to date. authors: - name: Susie Poppick url: https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/ at_money_since: 2013 articles: 117 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/susiepoppick former_staff: true published: '2015-10-21T16:11:32.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T07:16:41.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Balmain - Clothing - fashion - H&M - pubdesk - Shopping word_count: 254 canonical: https://money.com/this-is-hms-most-expensive-single-item-ever/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** Money may earn a commission when you click on the products and services below. Opinions are our own, but compensation and in-depth research determine where and how they appear. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/) about how we make money. ![General Economy Images In Beijing](https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive5.jpg) Swedish retailer H&M is best known for making fashion fast and accessible to the everywoman (and man) with $10 shirts and [$99 wedding gowns](http://www.amny.com/lifestyle/style/5-things-more-expensive-than-h-m-s-99-wedding-dress-1.7345391) inspired by the runway. But over the years the store has done more than imitate top designers, and has successfully collaborated with designers to sell [much pricier items](http://www.thefashionspot.com/buzz-news/latest-news/653243-balmain-x-hm-collection-prices/)—including $350 Alexander Wang jackets and $399 Margiela bags. Now H&M has the [fashion press](http://www.racked.com/2015/10/19/9566655/hm-balmain-collaboration-prices#4858694) [buzzing](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/balmain-x-h-m-collection-833100) with its most expensive item to date. It's part of the new Balmain x H&M line, launched at a show Tuesday night (with a performance by the [Backstreet Boys](https://time.com/4080832/backstreet-boys-hm/)), with clothes and accessories scheduled to go on sale November 5. So what's the item? Well, it's not this $499 top, modeled by Kardashian kin Kendall Jenner... ![BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch](https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive2.jpg) And it's not even this $549 dress, featuring an avian design. ![BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch](https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive3.jpg) No, it is this black, white, and gold beaded dress, which is selling for $649, the most that the retailer has ever charged for a single item. ![attends the BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch at 23 Wall Street on October 20, 2015 in New York City.](https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive4.jpg) Here's a closer view of the dress, which is so expensive in part because of the labor costs: You're looking at 250,000 hand-sewn beads. ![BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch](https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive1.jpg) *NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 20: Model Toni Garrn walks the runway wearing BALMAIN X H&M collection during the launch event at 23 Wall Street on October 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Etienne Tordoir/WireImage)* While it's a wallet-buster by normal H&M measures, the latest collection is a steal by others: A real beaded Balmain dress can set you back [a cool $16,000](http://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/609152?cm_mmc=ProductSearchUS_PLA_c-_-Balmain-_-Clothing-Dresses-Mini-_-128759406995_609152-011&gclid=Cj0KEQjw75yxBRD78uqEnuG-5vcBEiQAQbaxSBm0LHtm-nWlJtThWOYM_CaPiR-K8Ui_1rjEOHvQEsQaAgxI8P8HAQ). And while the collection has the highest single price, the *Independent* reports [average prices in the line](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/one-chart-that-shows-whether-balmain-x-hm-is-the-most-expensive-collaboration-yet-a6702946.html) are not the highest H&M has charged for a designer collaboration. **Read More: [Meet the Hot New Fashion Store Ready to Compete With H&M](https://money.com/primark-us-stores-fast-fashion/)** ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/this-is-hms-most-expensive-single-item-ever/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Fashion", "item": "https://money.com/fashion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This Is H&M's Most Expensive Single Item Ever" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/this-is-hms-most-expensive-single-item-ever/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/this-is-hms-most-expensive-single-item-ever/", "name": "This Is H&M's Most Expensive Single Item Ever", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-10-21T16:11:32.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/this-is-hms-most-expensive-single-item-ever/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/this-is-hms-most-expensive-single-item-ever/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T07:16:41.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "This Is H&M's Most Expensive Single Item Ever", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive5.jpg", "width": 4000, "height": 2667, "caption": "General Economy Images In Beijing" }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive2.jpg", "width": 800, "height": 840 }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive3.jpg", "width": 800, "height": 840 }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive4.jpg", "width": 800, "height": 373 }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/10/hm-balmain-expensive1.jpg", "width": 800, "height": 840 } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susie Poppick", "url": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/14-05-21_bio_author_poppick.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1", "email": "susie_poppick@moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/susiepoppick" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-10-21T16:11:32.000Z", "description": "H&M has the fashion press buzzing with its most expensive item to date.", "abstract": "H&M has the fashion press buzzing with its most expensive item to date.", "@id": "https://money.com/this-is-hms-most-expensive-single-item-ever/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-16T07:16:41.000Z", "wordCount": 254, "keywords": [ "Balmain", "Clothing", "fashion", "H&M", "pubdesk", "Shopping" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lifestyle", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fashion", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion" ] } ] } ] } ```