Even in the world of high fashion, a $500 price tag could easily send many shoppers into economic shock. By comparison, a $30 tag is not only fair, it’s a great bargain.
That’s the idea behind Target’s newest designer collaboration with Missoni — creating iconic and expensive looks for less.
The collection hit stores nationwide Tuesday and sold out at most stores and online in less than a day, according to Target officials. The promotion was supposed to last for six weeks at 1,762 locations across the country.
Missoni, a high-end Italian clothing and accessory company, is most famous for its psychedelic prints, vibrant knitwear and trademark zigzag pattern. The Missoni for Target collection, with about 400 items, features women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, as well as housewares.
At Target.com, a preview of the collection highlighted items such as vibrantly-colored rain boots, wrap-around headscarves, knit cardigans and plush throw pillows. The line’s release was so highly anticipated, however, that the website crashed and was not fully functional until Wednesday morning.
Most Target apparel is designed for the average shopper. But the Missoni at Target collection has celebrity appeal, with singer Rihanna and actresses Emma Roberts and Mindy Kaling wearing and promoting the line.
And this celebrity prestige comes without celebrity price tags. Most items sold by Missoni proper are well over $400, and only high-end retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and independent boutiques carry the line. At Target, however, all items (excluding a $400 bike) are under $60, with most in the $30 range.
Angela Missoni, creative designer for the company, expressed her love for the collection in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. She said Missoni pushed Target for maximum quality — more than it has ever done.
“I spent a lot of time with them,” Missoni said. “I put my hands on every piece of this collection.”
When Target announced the collection last spring, fashion-centered hysteria hit blogs, news and top style magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
The craze seems to have sustained itself since then. Last Friday, a “pop-up” store opened in New York City to offer a preview of the collection in a first-come, first-serve basis. The store, however, was forced to close the same morning due to its entire inventory selling out within an hour, according to New York Magazine.
Many Marquette students are interested in the collaboration as well.
“I think that there will be good pieces,” said Mary Carlson, a sophomore in the College of Communication, about the women’s clothing line. “Based on the prints shown in the commercials, everything looks fun – I may have to go check it out.”
Other students eyed specific items as they anxiously awaited Missoni’s release.
“I am most excited for Missoni housewares like the vases and accessories,” said Jessica Papilla, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. “Really, Missoni for Target is genius.”
However, not everyone thinks Missoni’s inexpensive collaboration with Target is beneficial.
Victor Jacobo, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said the line might result in a number of people pretending to be something they are not.
“(Consumers) are buying and wearing clothes that they can’t really afford in real life,” Jacobo said. “Sometimes it is just better to get things of quality.”
