French designer Sonia Rykiel will be H&M’s next guest designer and the Parisian design house has created two lines for the mass market retailer: one for winter 2009 and a later collection for spring 2010.

For the first time H&M has extended its designer collaborations to include lingerie. The exclusive Rykiel designed lingerie pieces will launch on December 5 in 1,500 stores worldwide. At the same time, Sonia Rykiel will make the lingerie collection available in her boutiques around the world. The French brand counts 44 boutiques worldwide, along with 52 shop-in-shops.

In another first, the collaboration with Rykiel will continue into the Spring 2010 season with an iconic knitwear collection for women and girls, accompanied by accessories. This second collection will be launched in around 250 H&M stores starting on Feb. 20, 2010. “We wanted something different,” H&M creative adviser Margareta van den Bosch told WWD. “Sonia Rykiel is very Parisian, feminine and playful, so it was an ideal choice.”

Nathalie Rykiel, president and artistic director of Sonia Rykiel told WWD, “women want things that aren’t too expensive,” adding the lingerie and knitwear collection would be “unmistakably Rykiel.”

Since the opening of her first boutique here on Paris’ Left Bank in 1968, Rykiel’s designs have become known for their exuberant, coquettish style and have been worn by the likes of Lily Allen, Vanessa Paradis and Michelle Obama, among others. Rykiel’s trademarks include colorful stripes, a preponderance of black and especially knitwear, which has become synonymous with the brand.

The timing is perfect for Rykiel since the brand is angling to broaden distribution in the U.S., where Sonia Rykiel only has two boutiques — one in New York and the other in Boston. “We have the kind of style that women want,” Rykiel asserted. “Our house has grown and today it needs a boost.”

Sonia Rykiel is the latest in a long line of designer collaborations for H&M, which have included Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, Viktor & Rolf and Matthew Williamson.