They say chic isn’t cheap, but fortunately for college students the game is changing.
Many designers have created or are working on a more-affordable sister line that can be purchased by the general public. These lines are not only less expensive, but also allow designers to reach out to a wider array of people. Designers from Karl Lagerfeld to Missoni to Stella McCartney have all collaborated with different chain stores to create their more reasonably priced clothing lines.
So what is it about designer duds that get everyone so excited? First off, designer clothing is typically of higher quality than clothing found in a local mall. Though the quality of the clothes is reflected in the price, customers are also paying for the designer’s name. When it comes to buying a Gucci purse for $2,000 or a Dior dress for $3,000, most shoppers simply cannot justify the price. But when consumers can buy clothing and accessories from the same designer for less, most cannot say no.
This is why these designer collaborations have become so popular. Some even have customers lining up outside the store just hoping to pick up a piece from the collection. When Target first started its Go International design collaborations, some of the designers they worked with weren’t as well known, such as Luella Bartley and Behnaz Sarafpour. Since then, the store has teamed up with bigger names including Rodarte, Zac Posen and the ever-popular Missoni.
To date, Missoni has been the fastest selling of Target’s designer collections according to a CNN article. The collection consisted of over 400 different items ranging from scarves to sleepwear and a bicycle. Within hours of its launch, the demand for the Missoni collection had caused the Target website to crash. The site was back up briefly only to crash again. Within 48 hours of the collection’s debut, most Target locations were sold out both in stores and online. Though originally scheduled to be in stores from Sept. 13 through Oct. 22, 2011, most of Target’s stores barely had the collection for more than a day. Some consumers even went as far as to purchase items from the collection solely to resell on sites like eBay for almost double the price.
Though none of Target’s previous collections had been quite this popular, their designer collaborations have always been a hit with the general public. Most recently they’ve teamed up with Jason Wu, the designer of Michelle Obama’s inaugural dress, to create a line that includes clothing and handbags. Wu’s collection hits stores Feb. 5. Many other stores including H&M, Topshop and Puma have collaborated with other designers to create more affordable lines. Karl Lagerfeld, head designer of Chanel, was the first designer that Swedish retailer H&M worked with, and within hours many stores were already sold out of his collection. H&M has also teamed up with Stella McCartney and Viktor & Rolf.
British retail chain Topshop has worked with British designers from Christopher Kane to Comme des Garcons. Puma even got in on the action and teamed up with the late Alexander McQueen to create a line of sneakers.
Designer collaborations have become a big trend in the fashion world. These collections not only allow designers to reach larger audiences but also bring more customers to the stores for which they are designing. These collaborations consist of everything from clothing to shoes to jewelry and other accessories. Next time you think that you can’t afford clothing from your favorite designer, check your local chain stores and you might find just what you’re looking for.
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