Designer fashion – affordable prices? Until recently this combination was a desire only found in daydreams. For far too long it’s been a myth that you have to empty your wallet to be stylish. Fortunately for us collegiette™ fashionistas, that’s no longer the case! The fashion industry is ever changing and a new trend is on the rise: a trend that will change the fashion industry forever! It can be seen in your local H&M and Target stores. Thanks to the economic downturn, there have been a growing number of designer collaborations with mass fashion retailers. High fashion designers are partnering with affordable companies to produce stylish collections for prices so low that they’re hard to believe. This past year we saw some of the most successful collaborations that the fashion industry has ever seen.
Missoni for Target
In September of 2011, Target launched a 400-piece collection designed by the Italian fashion house Missoni, as part of its highly successful GO International™ line. Missoni is a veritable fashion empire designing luxury knitwear characterized by a kaleidoscope of playful colors and their trademark zigzag patterns. A Missoni sweater will cost a girl a pretty penny (we’re talking $1000), that is until the wildly successful collaboration with Target, which caused the Target website to crash in mere minutes. What was once an unattainable luxury brand meant for the runways in Milan, was now hitting the shelves just aisles away from your morning cereal and your favorite shampoo. Targets in suburban America made the impossible possible: they brought designer fashions at affordable prices to college students on the East Coast, to business professionals in Boise, and even to soccer moms in the South. The collection featured men, women, and children’s clothing, accessories, house wares, and quite possibly the cutest bike ever.
The Missoni launch at the mass retailer became infamously known as Target Tuesday. Lines of savvy shoppers snaked out of the stores; shoppers fought like it was Black Friday for a pair of patterned tights, and every item both in stores and online sold out almost instantly. The Missoni for Target collection will go down in fashion history as one of the most successful designer collaborations.
Keep your eye out for the Jason Wu for Target collection coming to stores February 5, 2012. Wu, a favorite of the first-lady, designed a French inspired gamine chic collection for Target full of pleats, bows, and little peter pan collars. And with every piece priced under $59.99, it will no doubt be a huge success.
Versace for H&M
Hot off the heels of Target’s success with some of fashion’s major players, H&M expanded its collaborative efforts with a new Versace for H&M collection. H&M, like Target, has seen great success with budget friendly designer collections. The Lanvin for H&M collection of 2010 had even the most civilized shoppers fighting for one of Alber Elbaz’s ruffled, frilly dresses. Upping the ante, H&M partnered with Donatella Versace to design a complete fall collection this year. Usually the closest a college student can get to a Versace dress is through her TV screen, watching celebrities at award shows. Thanks to H&M, you don’t have to be walking a red carpet to wear fabulous designer duds. H&M made Versace affordable and attainable, without compromising style. The collection included iconic pieces from Versace’s past collections: studs, black leather, bold patterns and metallic accents. In one word, this collection was SEXY. (Hello, silver mini dress!)
With this collection, nearly everyone can afford a Versace piece with prices ranging from $19.95 up to $299. The only question is whether you can fight for it. (Yes! There were hospitalizations involved). After months of anticipation and hype, Versace and H&M hit stores in November of this year with a bang (literally). Fearless fashionistas flocked to H&M stores around the World braving overnight lines, scrappy shoppers and complete chaos. The Daily Mail reports that stores in both Dubai and Beijing sold completely out of the collection in less than 30 minutes and the website crashed in the UK. Following the success of the fall collection, H&M launched an exclusive online cruise collection January 19, 2012. The website crashed by 6:30am and every last fruit printed dress and bikini has already sold out. Keep an eye out for the Marni for H&M collaboration coming to stores this March; the statement accessories and printed dresses are well worth standing in line and fighting for.
Other successful collaborations that hit stores this year were Alexa Chung’s sweet and sassy collection for Madewell and the Karl Lagerfeld for Macy’s collection. Chung a model, fashion journalist, and now designer has gained major notoriety for her mid-priced line that left her loyal fans wanting more. Lagerfeld’s collection was also highly successful, bringing the famed Chanel designer’s clothing to malls across America.
With the great success of designer collaborations this year like Missoni for Target and Versace for H&M, 2012 is sure to have exciting collaborations and ensembles in store.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2062599/Versace-H-M-collection-Donatella-greets-desperate-shoppers-website-crashes.html
http://www.befashionablestyle.com
www.thelooksforless.com
www.nitrolicious.com
www.thevine.com.au
www.fashionista.com