19 December 2012
DESIGNER: Luxury department store Neiman Marcus recently launched an exclusive collection for Target.
By Shelby Clemons, Staff Writer
It seems to be the trend for high-end designers to take the plunge and sell their “exclusive collections” at lower-end department stores. Recently, the high-end department store Neiman Marcus launched a collection at Target—that’s right, you can get an Oscar de la Renta purse for a mere $60 at your local Target.
The collection boasts 24 big-name designers and 50 pieces. Designer labels you can pick up include Alice + Olivia, Band of Outsiders, Rag & Bone, Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Prabal Gurung, Rodarte and Jason Wu (who has already done his own separate collection for Target), among others. Not only are the designers diverse, but the pieces themselves are fit for a store like Target. Customers can get clothes, of course, but also a bike (Alice + Olivia), Christmas ornaments (Jason Wu and Rodarte), a lunch box (Tory Burch) and even a designer dog bowl (Oscar de la Renta) if it tickles their fancy.
Overall, the collection is interesting and exciting for “fashionistas” seeking name-brand items on the cheap. On my must-have list is the striped Alice + Olivia luggage, Rodarte moon-printed wrapping paper, Band of Oustiders “Best Friends” beanies and Proenza Schouler sweatshirt. Other pieces are less than impressive, like Philip Crangi and Eddie Borgo “accent boxes” and a Skaist-Taylor faux fur hat that resembles the head of a CGI werewolf from Twilight.
Target has taken this plunge before, with Jason Wu for Target this past year, Missoni for Target in 2011 and Liberty for Target in 2010. Other stores have taken note and done the same, such as H&M, which has had a notable list of designers in its stores. There was a very exciting buzz behind the Versace x H&M collection when it was launched in 2011, and similarly with the Lanvin x H&M collection the year before.
Among the fashionistas that love the collection is Briana Council (12) who said: “I love the idea of high end designers meeting in the middle for lower end stores such as Target. The Neiman Marcus and Target partnerships is one of the best things to happen to Target! While some of the prices may be a little high for the average Target customer the merchandise is a nice improvement to see throughout Target. I absolutely love the idea of high end and low end designers working together to come up with a great product line for a more middle class customer.”
As impressive as these collections may be, there are certainly critics of the high-end meets low-end collaborations. As Antonio Serros (10) said: “Something about the collaboration is particularly off-putting. Luxury brands such as Proenza Schouler, Marchesa and Rodarte becoming readily available to a public that doesn’t understand their cultural significance seems to devalue the brands–granted it was the choice of the individual house to collaborate. I intend to work relentlessly to purchase luxury goods and the thought of a woman going home [in] a dress that she thought was made by ‘Mar-cheese-ah’ disgusts me.”
There’s a ring of truth in what he said. Maybe it’s not such a big deal that people simply want a cute dress, but our definition of luxury designer goods has changed. These collections are a brilliant example of our postmodernism culture. Producers are doing anything to get customers into the store no matter what it takes. Buying designer things used to be reserved just for the rich and famous, the elite few that were important enough or had enough money to spend on exclusive, high-end clothing. Now, however, we are changing what we once thought was designer and cheapening it so that it is readily available to the general public.
I want to own something slapped with a designer label as much as the next fashion-minded girl, but is the label just blinding us? These sorts of collaborations are the ultimate paradox: in our scramble for name-brand items, designer goods are cheapened while conversely bumping up the prices at normally affordable stores. For instance, you can buy a $69.99 Marc Jacobs scarf, a cheap knock-off of its normally unaffordable price, from the Target collection. On the other hand, this is almost $60 more than the $10 scarves you can get every day at Target without the label on them, that are just as chic and well-made.
Perhaps we truly are blinded by the brand. Most times, the collections are limited edition or limited stock, and very few stores have the entire collection for sale. Despite all this, many of us are ready and willing to spend more money than we usually would at a store to get something merely for the name on its tag.
But no matter; we will continue on with our ways and consume whatever is produced. Some scoff at the mere thought of Marchesa being sold at something as “déclassé” as Target. There are others, like myself, dying to get their hands on the Neiman Marcus for Target collection. If the latter is the side you stand on, the collection is waiting for you now at Target stores all over.
Courtesy of rollingout.com