Lisbeth Salander

When it was announced that H&M would release a Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-inspired line designed by the film's costume designer, Trish Summerville, some die-hard Lisbeth fans balked. Lisbeth, a loner misfit who shuns society, wouldn't be down with the the commercialization of her image, was the criticism. Summerville's appropriate response? “She’s a character from books," she told the NY Post. "So she doesn’t really have a voice in it.” But a new, more serious, issue has come to light regarding the collection, in stores on December 14, and the fact that Lisbeth's character is a rape survivor. The WSJ noticed some internet rumblings about the questionable propriety of basing a clothing line on a rape victim, whose experiences essentially cause her to "retreat into a dark, genderless, punk shell of a life — with a tough-but-listless wardrobe to match." Lisbeth Salander is one of those literary characters who stays with you a long time after you shut the book--just imagine how strongly she must resonate with people who have had similar experiences. Writer Natalie Karneef, who is a rape survivor, posted an open letter to H&M about the collection.

Designer collaborations with H&M are commonplace and even expected now. But collections based on fictional characters? Not so much, until now. Lisbeth Salander, the edgy, troubled, goth protagonist in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has inspired a new capsule collection, WWD is reporting. Trish Summerville, the costume designer for the US movie version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (she also outfitted the Black Eyed Peas, No Doubt, Ricky Martin and Janet Jackson on their tours), designed the 30-piece collection, which will be a part of the Swedish retailer's Divided line. For H&M, the collection was a no-brainer.