The Shophound

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: J.Crew's CFDA/VOGUE Fashion Fund Collections Launch Next Week With Tabitha Simmons, The Elder Statesman & Jennifer Meyer

One might think that at some point, The Shophound will get sick of collaboration lines between designers and retailers, but we, and shoppers, seem to have an endless fascination for them, especially when it provides an opportunity for up and coming, young designers to get valuable attention. Next Wednesday, May 22, J. Crew will once again present capsule collections from the top three finalist for the CFDA/VOGUE Fashion Fund, Tabitha Simmons, Jennifer Meyer and The Elder Statesman. The concise assortments distill each designer's specialty including colorful footwear from Simmons, Glittering jewels from Meyer and the inventive knits (apparently for women only this time) that have put The Elder Statesman in the spotlight. Have a look in our gallery below, and if you want to shop the collections online one day earlier than the rest of the general public, sign up HERE so J.Crew can notify you at the very first instant they are available.

CFDA/VOGUE Fashion Fund Designer Capsule Collections at J.Crew (Official Site)

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COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Uniqlo Taps Social Media For Suno & Michael Bastian Collaboration Contests

Monday will be a bigger than usual day at UNIQLO as the Japanese based chain launches its first major collaborations with American designers in several seasons. To make sure you don't miss out, the retailer is running two contests through Facebook and Twitter to drum up excitement among customers.

There's not much time to enter Contest #1. The lucky winner will receive a "Personal Shopping Experience" with either designer Michael Bastian or the Suno designers Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty at the collections' launch party on Monday May 20th at the Uniqlo Fifth Avenue Flagship plus a $100 shopping credit to spend at the event. Entrants must register on Facebook HERE, and then Tweet a question to the designers at @UniqloUSA that you would like them to answer including the tags, "#AsktheDesigner @UNIQLOUSA" all before 3 PM tomorrow, May 17th.

Contest #2 is giving away 10 of Michael Bastian's Uniqlo Polo Shirts each week to winners who choose their favorite styles from the collection on Facebook HERE. You can re-enter once every hour, so it's up to you to increase your odds.

UNIQLO Launch Party with Michael Bastian and SUNO, UNIQLO x Michael Bastian Polo Giveaway (Facebook)
UNIQLO (Official Site)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Target Taps 3.1 Phillip Lim For Fall Collaboration

In more Target news, after a stumble last Winter with a poorly performing collaboration with Neiman Marcus and a host of designers, the retailer is getting back to basics with a Fall capsule collection with —not a retailer or a stylist, but a popular designer. 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target will launch on September 15th and, in a pleasant surprise, will offer apparel, shoes and accessories for both women and men. The collection was announced in a Wall Street Journal article (sorry WWD) that questioned whether the public still had an appetite for designer collaborations after missteps last year from leaders in the practice like Target and also H&M, whose Maison Martin Margiela collaboration was an uncharacteristically poor performer. Last Year was but a bump in the road, however and if the Neiman Marcus and "Shops at Target" programs received mixed responses, a simple team-up with a popular designer should put things right back in order. The product line will consist of over 100 items priced from $19.99 to $299.99.

As for H&M, the chain has already announced that it would skip its regular Spring collaboration this year, but we are expecting one for the Fall —which they should be announcing any day now...

The Retailer-Designer Dating Game (Wall Street Journal)

After the jump, check out a video preview of the collection

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: More On Uniqlo's Collaborations With Michael Bastian & Suno

May 20th is going to be a big day at Uniqlo stores as they unveil their first American designer collaborations in a few seasons. The hype is already starting. Yesterday, the retailer released the video above which shows designer Michael Bastian discussing his polo shirt project. The secret, it turns out, is a perfectly fitted short sleeve that maximizes bicep shape, so take note. From what we can tell, it looks like there may be nearly 50 different styles and colorways in this collection, which is an impressive offering.

As for the Suno line debuting on the same day, there is no video yet, but the fashion blogs are all abuzz for the first big high-profile collaboration from designers Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty. We have scoured the internets to find as many images we could of the collection, so click on our gallery below to see what's to come.

You may be inclined to line up in front of the nearest Uniqlo store on May 20th to make sure you get the best choice since the polo shirts will all be priced at a mere $19.90, and the Suno collection is reported to top out at $39.90. Remember how much fun it was to queue up for those +J launches? Yeah, anyway, now that there are three giant flagships plus new mall stores popping up every other minute, it might not be such a crush this time around. We recommend checking the lower profile 34th Street store first, since the weekday crowds there are lighter than on Fifth Avenue or in SoHo, and it tends to be the last to sell out of things. This time, as a back up and for customers who are not near an Uniqlo store, you will be able to purchase the collections online which should also make things easier, and don't forget to watch this space as more information is released.

UNIQLO x Michale Bastian (Official Site)
Previously:
Uniqlo Turns Back To America For Lines With Suno & Michael Bastian

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RETURN ENGAGEMENT: Burkman Bros. Tourist Makes A Return Visit To Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters' collaboration collections can be tough to keep track of. Sometimes they are there, and then sometimes they aren't, and then they show up again. Last year, chain launched The Tourist with Burkman Bros with fanfare featuring versions of the brand's quirky, outdoorsy sportswear at a fraction of the main collection's price, but they never followed it up in the Fall. Maybe it's just a warm weather brand, becasue the label has quietly reappeared this month. So far, six pieces are available online featuring bold prints with far flung origins befitting the label's name. We stopped by the Fifth Avenue branch and found most of them in the store (pictured below). Whether there are more styles coming or not remains to be seen, but with bright African prints and Ikat patterns, one piece at a time will go a long way for most people, but the styles look like they could have been lifted right out of the main Burkman Bros. collection. For Burkman fans, here's one more chance to get the authentic look for less, which might not come around again... unless, of course, it does.

The Tourist by Burkman Bros. At Urban Outfitters (Official Site)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Uniqlo Turns Back To America For Lines With Suno & Michael Bastian Updated

It has been a while since Uniqlo has tapped American designers for its many collaboration lines. The most recent we can recall was a team-up with Costello-Tagliapietra for a series of well-received dress collections a couple of years ago, and we would have to go back even longer to remember Designer Invitation collections from American menswear brands like Loden Dager, Tim Hamilton and Gilded Age. Lately the chain has been focusing on Japanese women's sportswear designers, but that will change next week when the store launches a plethora of new polo shirts designed by Michael Bastian (who is having a busy week of publicity right now). There's no shortage of polos on Uniqlo's shelves right at this moment, but Bastian's will add the designer's special signatures including bold, unexpected prints, and a devotion to perfect proportions that trims down the silhouette and creates an arm enhancing sleeve. “It should fit right above the biceps to give the illusion that you are just about to bust out of it,” he tells the New York Times, so you may want to either buy a size up or just put down that bagel.
Forever.
The best part is that they will retail for a mere $19.90 which less than a fifth of what a similar shirt might cost even from the designer's less expensive collection for Gant.

Bastian isn't the only American designer to check into Uniqlo's studios this season. Erin Beatty and Max Osterweis of the women's label Suno will have a collection of cotton dresses hitting the chain's store's next month, just in time for Summer wardrobe shopping.

You can plan to wear your new clothes on a Friday night to the Museum of Modern Art, where Uniqlo will become the exclusive sponsor of its Friday night free admission program which waives entry fees on that day from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. The chain will take over the sponsorship from Target on May 3, and the first 1000 visitors on that night will receive special Uniqlo tote bags, so mark your calendars

Front Row: The Polo Rebuttoned By Eric Wilson (NYTimes)

UPDATE:
It turns out that those Michael Bastian polo shirts won't be hitting Uniqlo stores until May 20th, so save the date. GQ.com has 23 images of them HERE and HERE. It can't hurt to make your choices early.

The $20 Dollar Polo That Looks Like It Costs $200  &  See More from the Uniqlo x Michael Bastian Polo Collection (GQ.com)

AWARDS CIRCUIT II: Meet GQ's Best New Menswear Designers For 2013

Yesterday we got not only the latest group of CFDA Award Nominees, but also GQ's choices for Best New Menswear Designers. This year's crew has been narrowed down to four from last years bumper crop of six labels, but they still show the strength and depth of creativity in America's burgeoning men's fashion industry. Once again, GQ has teamed up with the Gap which will offer capsule collections from each label this Fall in select stores and on Gap.com. because the field has narrowed a bit, each brand will be able to add a few more items to their assortments for the chain. The designers include:

Aviator Nation designed by Paige Mycoskie based in Venice Beach, CA. As you might guess by the location, this is a surf inspired line offering a retro-tinged lifestyle collection for men and women and, soon, kids as well.

Bespoken designed by Liam and Sammy Fayed (pictured above) based in New York City. Another brother act, the Fayeds are inspired by classic Savile Row style. It doesn't hurt that their father is the current owner of legendary shirtmaker Turnbull & Asser. The label should be familiar to shoppers at Odin and Bloomingdale's.

Baldwin designed by Matt Baldwin based in Kansas City. Originally started as a denim brand, Baldwin has added a full sportswear collection all made in the U.S.A .

Ernest Alexander designed by Ernest Alexander Sabine based in New York City. Starting with leather accessories and bags, this label has evolved into a complete lifestyle collection. The U.S.A. made label can be found at its eponymous boutique in SoHo on Thompson Street.

It's a slightly less celebrated but more geographically varied group than last year's bumper crop of designers, but the honor is invaluable in raising a brand's profile. Of last year's group, Ian Velardi has since received an award from the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation, and Todd Snyder was just nominated for the CFDA's Swaravski Award for Menswear. This year's designers' Gap collaboration lines should appear in stores in October, so look for previews to start appearing in late summer.

The Best New Menswear Designers in America (GQ.com)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Opening Ceremony Sets A Rihanna "RIHtrospective" Next Week To Launch Her Exclusive Collection

Tons of people love her. A few people hate her, and plenty of people are just damned bewildered with her creepy love life, but there's no question that superstar singer (and actress if you count Battleship) Rihanna can capture attention. She upstaged London Fashion Week with a preview of the fashion collection she has collaborated on with UK chain River Island, which, for all the publicity it has generated, will not be sold anywhere in the U.S. —except for one store.

Opening Ceremony will not only launch the collection on Tuesday (preview the full collection HERE) , but has borrowed seven of the singer's most well-known performance and red-carpet outfits to display in its Howard Street flagship for three weeks as a fashion "RIHtrospective" of her career. Apparently, the number seven has some significance for Rihanna who has seven grammys, releases seven albums in seven years, appeared on the cover of Complex seven times and staged an infamous 777 tour last year with a corps of increasingly disgruntled reporters in tow to launch her most recent album, Unapologetic. Let's hope this venture goes better than that misbegotten plane tour. The retailer worked with Rihanna's stylist and the singer herself to choose the looks for the exhibition. The River Island collection, the reason behind all this fuss, will be sold in all of Opening Ceremony's stores and online, and ranges in price from $45 and $350. For its part, Opening Ceremony has a good track record with bringing other retailers' otherwise unavailable exclusive lines to the U.S. including selling many of Topshop's designer collaborations long before that chain had any U.S. locations. We have never heard of River Island before all the hype around Rihanna's collection, but if all goes well, we might see more of this chain on our shores.

Opening Ceremony to Stock Rihanna's River Island Collection (WWD)
RIHANNA for River Island (Official Site)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Marchesa Designer To Bring An Extravagant Touch to JCPenney

JCPenney's controversial makeover continues to provide us with surprises, including the news that Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman will be launching an exclusive collection for the department store next month. Penney's will be opening 500 in-store boutiques (pictured above) for the special occasion and party dress line to be called "Pearl by Georgina Chapman of Marchesa". Yes it's a mouthful, but it strategically downplays the Marchesa name to fine print in order to avoid rankling the luxury retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus who sell the brands more exclusive and expensive lines. Prices will run from $50 to $200, with the bulk of the offerings falling in the $70 to $100 range.

Of the new venture, Chapman tells WWD, “It’s got a slightly different attitude, a younger attitude, but it all comes from me. It retains the same sensibility and design aesthetic. I wanted it be fun. So a young girl can put on a dress and imagine she’s about to have an incredible night out. I really wanted to reach a larger demographic and larger audience.”

Jumping from iconic red-carpet looks to the mass market is an almost unprecedented leap for any designer, especially one as rarefied and couture-oriented as Marchesa, but JCP, as the store wants to be known, is banking on the unexpected to bring new customers through its doors. Pearl's first delivery will be aimed at Prom shoppers, and the store will be advertising on this weekend's Academy Awards to take maximum advantage of the designer's red carpet associations.

J.C. Penney to Launch Georgina Chapman Line (WWD)

GOOD MORNING UNDERPANTS: H&M Brings David Beckham & Guy Ritchie Together For A Mad Underwear Dash

Even though the folks at Calvin Klein Underwear are getting a lot of attention this week for their quintessentially Calvin Klein-ish Superbowl ad, H&M and David Beckham are making their own play for prominence in the underpants business by tapping Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie for a new minute and a half short film promoting the footballer's new Spring line. Trading in classical physique glorification (not that there's anything wrong with that) for a touch of self effacing slapstick, the short finds Beckham chasing after an errant bathrobe. What can we say?
Dude can run.
Click through to watch and rewatch as many times as your little heart desires.

David Beckham Bodywear at H&M (Official Site)