Talk about a big day in high-end designer deals! On Sunday, the highly-anticipated 3.1 Phillip Lim capsule collection for Target hit shelves nationwide as well as went live on Target.com. Lim is known for his classic silhouettes and hefty price tags, and you can bet thrifty trendsetters nationwide were lined up at their local Target stores to get their piece of fashion history for a steal.
Shoppers were lined up as early as 5AM at some stores, waiting to devour the gorgeous displays and take home their new designer duds. Shopper Crystal Martin, who’s been in attendance for every Target designer collaboration debut, told the LA Times that the scene “was out of control.”
“This was painful,” says Martin. ” It was crazy.”
Racked NY reported that not only did a fight for the first spot in line break out at the Queens Plaza store, but that Target’s location at Atlantic Terminal was already sporting bare shelves by 8:10 AM- just 10 minutes after doors opened! The East Harlem location played host to a similar frenzied scene: shoppers pushing and shoving with such force that employees couldn’t get through to restock!
The biggest hit of the collection? The purses, of course! The LA Times estimated 150 people were lined up for the 8AM debut, and the first things to fly off the racks were the bags. Sold out online by 7AM EST, the bags are a similar-looking cousin of Lim’s signature Pashli purse design. But while the original totes sell for $895 on 31PhillipLim.com, the Target version is priced at a mere $54.99.
Charmaine Simmons, a junior at the University of Illinois, told Her Campus that she LOVES her new mini satchel (she got the last one at her local Target!).
“I wish I could own the entire collection,” gushes Simmons. “I just wish that it didn’t sell out quickly online and that they had all the items in stores.”
While Charmaine’s local store didn’t receive the entire collection, some stores had the opposite problem and accidentally debuted the collection a week early. Some shoppers even went so far as to sell the items they picked up on eBay, with the Consumerist reporting that some of the “Buy It Now” options are marked up to $250- five times the original prices!
Consumerist blogger Chris Morran recalled a similar situation with the Missoni x Target collaboration a few years ago. “After [the Missoni collection] items sold out rapidly, with many customers unable to even get onto Target.com to make their purchases, hopeful eBay sellers were charging insane mark-ups on what should have been reasonably priced designer goods,” he wrote for the website.
All controversy aside, the general reaction to Lim’s collection is overwhelmingly positive, with celebrities not only walking the red carpet at Lim’s NYFW show and Target launch party, but strolling the streets of LA and NYC in pieces from the new line. Her Campus writer and Catwalk to Campus editor Kelsey Mulvey praised Lim’s vision as a designer as well as this collection in particular. “This affordable collection mixes classic pieces with standout threads, “ she raved. “Though we might not wear the “Boom” sweater every day, that tuxedo blazer is so timeless.”
Did you pick up a piece from 3.1 Phillip Lim x Target yesterday, or perhaps a week early? Did you encounter a crazed crowd of fashionistas fighting over the last mini satchel? What do you think of the collection? Comment below with your thoughts and stories!