Zac Posen, meet Target
On April 25, Zac Posen became accessible to the masses in his online and in-store launch of a new clothing line for Target. With items ranging from $17 to almost $200, Posen has created looks comprised of everything from belts to party dresses to tie-dyed tank tops .
Though the designer-for-Target lines are a genius move and a great alternative to uber expensive runway fashion, the new Posen items are a little bit over-the-top for Target and “the masses.” Most of the items were too far out there, and would most likely look awful on anyone but the stick-thin supermodels that his designs normally hang off of. His elaborate touches were … well, too elaborate with awkward lines, cuts and angles. I can’t imagine seeing one person I know in Southeastern Wisconsin (let alone anyone outside of New York or Los Angeles) being caught dead in this new line- even if it is “designer.”
It really didn’t surprise me that his new line wasn’t flying off the racks on my last visit to the mega-store. Still curious, I had to take a look.
My favorite piece was the Two-Piece Ruffle Dress. Its tag explained that there were three ways to wear the sections: as the skirt attached to the little black dress, the little black dress itself, or as a skirt itself. Though the dress was lovely and it’s multi-tasking functionality appealed to me, I was immediately turned-off once I actually touched the material. Who knew that for eighty dollars you could get a trash bag with fringe!
Posen isn’t the first designer to hop on this Target bandwagon. Jean Paul Gaultier and Isaac Mizrahi have also lent their name and design services to the red bull’s eye. It worked so well for Mizrahi, in fact, that he discontinued his line in 2008 to leave for a job as Creative Director at Liz Claiborne.
To be clear, I’m not knocking the designer-at-Target phenomenon — I’ve totally purchased items from some of these lines. But there’s still something off about it. I mean, the whole point is for the designer to make their line more accessible and open it up to a new market, but at these prices (and given the quality of some of the garments) “accessible” isn’t really the word for it.
What do you think? Would you spend over a hundred dollars on one clothing item from Target, even if it was a designer label?
Take a peek at Zac Posen’s newest line for Target and weigh in. All photos courtesy of Target.com.
I’m not particularly enamored of any of Posen’s designs for Target, but I have bought from Target’s “designer” labels before (Mizrahi, Liberty of London, among others). However, the price point for all the previous designer lines at Target has been significantly lower, as far as I recall. I think they’ve topped out at $100; the jump to the Posen price points is incredible. I certainly would never spend that much on a Target dress, regardless of the designer. I’ll go pick out something from BB Dakota if I have that kind of cash to spend.
If, on top of that, the quality is bad, I think Target is making a serious mistake. Honestly, I don’t care whether Posen needs the help boosting his brand, but Target is hurting themselves by cheapening (and at the same time, raising prices on) this project of theirs.