COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Target's Team-Up With Marimekko Hits Stores Next Month

It's the time of year, when designer collaboration fiends start looking to the big red bullseye to find out what collection they will be clamoring to this spring. Today, that question has been answered as Target announced its upcoming 200-piece collection created with iconic Finnish design and textile house Marimekko. "We’ve had our eye on Marimekko for quite some time, and can’t wait for guests to have a chance to shop this limited-edition collection in just a few short weeks," says Target's senior vice president, product design and development, Julie Guggemos. Inspired by the nearly 24-hours of sunshine during the height of Finland's summer days, the collection includes beach and swimwear for women and girls, outdoor décor, furniture and entertaining items ranging in price from $7.99 for sunscreen to a $499.99 paddle board. Most pieces are promised to be under $50, however. Look for the frenzy to begin in only about six weeks when the collection hits stores and Target.com on April 17th.

Target Announces New Design Partnership with Marimekko: It’s Finnish, Target Style (Target Corporate)
See some more images from the collection after the jump

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Adam Lippes x Target, Uniqlo And Lemaire & Gap x GQ's Best New Menswear Designers In America All Hit Stores This Week

In a particularly bountiful season for designer collaborations, this is a big week for a good portion of this fall's most anticipated collections. Adam Lippes for Target, Gap x GQ's Best New Menswear Designers in America 2015 (pictured above) and Uniqlo and Lemaire all arrive on store racks this week. Let's review them below so you can prepare yourselves for a potential stampede to the mall.

First up is Adam Lippes's plaid infused line for Target which dropped yesterday morning in stores and online. Oddly, it has not caused the kind of excitement that some of the popular chain's other collabs have. Perhaps it is because it is only a component of Target's larger tartan-promotion for the fall season, or maybe it is just because the chain hasn't really invested in the same level of advertising for it as they have for other past collaborations —seen any TV ads?. Regardless, it looks great in photos and a few pieces appear to have already sold out online. The collection includes both men's and women's apparel including plus sizes as well as accessories and items for the home and even pets. It has a luxe, casual feeling, and it looks like a sleeper, so don't put off an in-store visit.

Over the past four years, Gap x GQ's Best New Menswear Designers in America has become one of the most highly anticipated collaborations of the year thanks to some stylish, fast-shopping men who cleared the racks of last year's crop in record time. It officially drops tomorrow, but if you text "GQ" to 36888 to sign up, then you can shop online starting right now. You will want the head start. This year's group of official up-and-comers- includes NSF, The Hill-Side, David Hart and STAMPD, each one filling its own separate niche in the range of men's fashion. Some potential fast sellers (pictured above) include NSF's washed leather hoodie with sherpa lining for $450, STAMPD's black leather backpack with a white stripe for $195, master tailor David Hast's tweed sport coat and trousers for $150 and $98 respectively, and the Hill-Side's quilted camo-print bomber for $130. There are tons of great items to be had from each designer, and online shopping is recommended for the best selection. We don't have an official list of NYC stores, but typically, the Gap locations with the best selections are the Fifth Avenue flagship, which usually devotes the little side-store to the collaboration, the Flatiron location on lower Fifth Avenue, The Herald Square and Times Square stores and the Upper West Side location near Lincoln Square. As always, shop early for this one.

Finally, Uniqlo and Lemaire (above) will be released online and in stores this Friday October 2nd. This luxurious looking collaboration for men and women has been generating an enormous amount of online anticipation, particularly for those who have been waiting for a sophisticated follow up to the chain's much loved +J collection. The knitwear pieces for men and women look especially enticing, but the stylish basics throughout the line all look like winners. While a fraction of the collection will be available in every Uniqlo store, only a very select group of stores worldwide will have the complete line in stock including the Fifth Avenue Flagship and West 34th Street locations exclusively in the entire United States. Chicago shoppers will also have the complete line at their upcoming store on Michigan Avenue, but not until it opens later this month. As far as we know, those stores will have regular hours on Friday, but look for the lines outside the doors that we used to see on the +J launch days of years past when the SoHo Uniqlo was the only one in America.

Of course, there are still big collaborations coming from Carine Roitfeld and Uniqlo and, probably the 800 pound gorilla of the season, H&M x Balmain coming in late October and mid-November, so shoppers may want to pace themselves, but the season is getting off to a strong start right now. Plan carefully.

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Have A Look At The Adam Lippes For Target Plaid Lookbook

In case you haven't noticed, Target is going all in with plaid for fall throughout its stores. Most of its exclusive brands are adding capsule collections in all kinds of tartan, but the centerpiece of the promotion is an exclusive collaboration with contemporary designer Adam Lippes set to drop on September 27th.
The line encompasses women's apparel —including plus sized looks— menswear —for those who have missed the designer's erstwhile men's collections of years past— accessories, shoes, pet items and tabletop.
Rather than taking the typical root to the Scottish highlands for inspiration, Lippes cleverly started with buffalo plaids and then re-imagined them, blew them up and morphed them into abstract windowpane checks for his collection which nicely reflects his signature, deceptively sophisticated casual style. Take a look below at what to pick for next month's launch, and, as always, plan ahead. Lippes may not have the name recognition of a Missoni or even Lilly Pulitzer, but Target's designer collaborations are back on track after a dry spell, so be prepared.

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COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Adam Lippes Joins Target's Plaid Brigade for Fall

 

 

All about plaid. #comingsoon. @TARGET #adamlippesfortarget

A photo posted by adamlippes (@adamlippes) on Jun 3, 2015 at 5:28am PDT

As the designer collaboration train rolls on, Target has announced that its fall "Plaid Takeover" promotion will include an exclusive collection by designer Adam Lippes to span apparel, accessories, pet goods and home furnishings. The line will consist of over 50 items in a buffalo plaid theme, and few other details about the collaboration have yet been released beyond that the promotion will start in August and extend through October, and Lippes' collection will hit stores on September 27th. The designer broke the news on his Instagram page (above), and tells target's own blog, "As a designer, I’ve always admired Target’s ability to make beautiful products available to everyone. I was thrilled when they approached me with the challenge of creating an entire collection around buffalo plaid. It’s also been exciting to design for categories that are entirely new for me." Look for more reveals throughout the summer designed to encourage you to get your lumberjack on for fall.

It's a Plaid, Plaid World at Target this Fall (Target/A Bullseye View)

COLLABORATION DEVASTATION: Lilly Pulitzer For Target Sold Out By Mid-Afternoon On The First Day

Bella Thorne, Emmy Rossum, Kate Bosworth & Ellie Kemper at the Lilly Pulitzer for Target Celebrity launch party.

Some of us New Yorkers were wondering if Doyenne of Palm Beach Prep Chic Lilly Pulitzer's collaboration line with Target would hold the appeal of the ones that more glamorous designers had participated in. After all, here in the Northeast there has always been a following for Pulitzer's style, but how would it play in the flyover states where Target makes its money?
Well, neither we nor anyone else needed to wonder.
WWD was quick to update before the end of yesterday's launch day that the collection had almost completely  sold out online and in stores after being available for less than 12 hours. Some stores sold out within minutes after hosting long early morning lines that hadn't been seen since the Missoni collaboration launch in 2011. This time, however, the store's e-commerce website did not crash, but was carefully monitored and managed to maintain functionality —even if it meant shutting it down for 15-minute periods for some kind of cyber-housecleaning to keep it humming.
Sadly, for those Lilly fans who were not quick enough to respond to the launch's first moments, there will be no replenishing of merchandise online or in stores. The best one can hope for is the occasional spot-check for goods that have been returned. There's always eBay, where the collaboration line appeared almost immediately marked up  to premium prices, much to the chagrin of Target executives. As a Target spokesperson told WWD, “For us and the Lilly Pulitzer team, it’s disheartening because we want to give people a chance to experience something special and affordable.” Apparently there is no way to correctly estimate how much of these collaborations to produce so there is enough to linger in stores for at least a few days.

Lilly Pulitzer for Target Collection Almost Sells Out (WWD)

POP-UP FRENZY: Shoppers Are Going Nuts For Target's Lilly Pulitzer Collaboration Right Now In Bryant Park

Our friends at Racked got up at the crack of dawn, bless their hearts, to see what the response would be to Target's one-day pop-up shop for the upcoming Lilly Pulitzer collaboration. Apparently it was good, because reports have eager customers lined up around the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue just to get inside the tent set up for the event. New Yorkers have been known to swarm to these pop-ups that Target has staged in the past, but they haven't done one in a while, and we wondered if the very specific Lilly style would have as great of an appeal as the Liberty of London and Missoni collaborations had in past years.
It looks like it does.
If you want to hit the pop-up today, plan on a long wait, but if not, now you know to be extra prepared and be an early bird when the collection gets officially launched on Sunday in Target stores and online.

Lillypocalypse: Hundreds Lined Up to Shop Lilly for Target at Bryant Park (Racked NY)

FINALLY ON THE BANDWAGON: Target.com Discovers Heritage Brands For Men This Sunday

It's better late than never. They say it takes years for fashion concepts to filter down to the mass market, and if this Sunday's online launch of the Target Collective is any indication, then the mass-market chain is right on time to show up and take over the Made in U.S.A. Heritage Brand movement. The ongoing program is launching with six men's accessory and apparel labels who have made it a point to maintain manufacturing in the U.S.A. Unlike other designer collaborations of the past, the brands will be offering specially designed merchandise but manufacture it themselves using their usual methods and materials. The 90 products (a selection pictured above) offered will, therefore be somewhat more expensive than the usual Target fare, ranging from $10 to $270 with most falling under $100. Participating brands include, Jersey City's Billykirk, known for handcrafted leathergoods; Brooklyn's  Owen & Fred, known for accessories and travel gear; San Francisco's Taylor Stitch, known for fastidiously tailored shorts; Minnesota's Duluth Pack known for canvas and leather bags; Iowa's Locally Grown, known for graphic tee-shirts and New York's cult-favorite Terrapin Stationers. Though it is launching with men's items, the Target Collective is meant to be applied to any category in the store, so it may return with women's, children's home or any number of categories if successful. For the moment, the initial launch will be online only with the exception of a selection of Billykirk products that will his a group Target stores in May that have been carefully selected to support the interest in higher fashion items.
Of course, to a great many menswear followers, the Heritage Brand concept has been simmering for several years at this point, and no shortage of heavy, handmade leather belts have been at trade shows and men's fashion events at this point. For the Target customer, however, the concept should have more novelty, hopefully, and promoting domestic production is always worthwhile, especially when a retailer with the capacity for huge volume like Target is concerned. Have a look at some of the offerings in our slideshow below, and be ready to shop on Sunday the 15th when it launches at Target.com

Target Culls a Special Offering for Men (WWD)

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COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: Target Heads To Palm Beach For Spring With Lilly Pulitzer

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Spring is only a few months away, which means that it's time for a new Target collaboration line. After a few inconsistent outings with less well-known, up-and-coming designers, the chain is headed to safer, sunnier waters with preppy American icon Lilly Pulitzer. If it will be nearly impossible for Target to re-create the frenzy of its Missoni and Liberty of London team-ups, Target is betting that a perennial favorite of upper-middle class white ladies will bring the masses back to its doors on April 19th. The 250-piece collection will include apparel, shoes and accessories for girls, women of all sizes as well as home items, outdoor entertaining accessories, beach gear, travel accessories and more —all festooned in Lilly's signature love-em-or-hate-em day-glo floral prints. Have a look at a few photos of this week's launch preview event from Target's in-house blog in the gallery above, and take a look at the promo video below, and decide if you want to be a Palm Beach Lady this Spring.

Ticket to Sunshine: Introducing Target’s Latest Limited-Edition Collection (A Bullseye View-Target)

CLASS & MASS: Chelsea's STORY Partners With Target For its Holiday Concept Store

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The last time Target partnered with another retailer for the Holidays, things didn't go so well. The Target x Neiman Marcus team up of Holiday 2012 didn't quite click with customers of either chain, but this time the mass market crowd pleaser might have gotten things right by thinking smaller. Chelsea's revolving concept store STORY has just opened its latest incarnation for next couple of months, and "Home for the Holidays" will feature about 300 items with a familiar bullseye logo in addition to more the more rarefied the store typically offers. The collaboration came about when new Target CEO Brian Cornell visited the store and met its owner Rachel Shechtman, a longtime Target fan, and invited her to Minneapolis to choose from the chain's special offerings to add to her Holiday season assortments. The result is combination of Story's typical curated stock and a select sampling of Target's exclusive product lines including items from Nate Berkus, Merona, Archer Farms and limited collaborations with TOMS shoes and Faribault Woolen Mills that will be available before they are released at Target's regular stores. The whole presentation is appearing now in a brand new environment by interior designer Jason Bell.

Don't expect this to happen in specialty stores everywhere. It works well in Manhattan in part because the nearest Target stores to Story are 100 blocks uptown in East Harlem or in Brooklyn, Queens or The Bronx. A visit to the mothership is still something of a trek for many New Yorkers who have to schlepp their purchases on the subway or bus instead of tossing them in the trunk or driving home. It's an extra convenience for Story shoppers as well as an opportunity for Target's merchants to incorporate new specialty ideas into their City Target or Target Express stores. Story's latest concept opens this week and will run through the beginning of January, which give everyone plenty of time to make it a stop on the Holiday shopping tour.

For Target, a Story of Branding Evolution (WWD)

COLLABORATION ANTICIPATION: The Altuzarra For Target Lookbook Has Hit The Web

The looks are out and the lookbook looks good.
Today is the day the Target begins the publicity blitz for its upcoming collaboration with Joseph Altuzarra by releasing the lookbook. As is typical with such things, everything is under $100. Anyone worried that the designer might water down his signature sexy, urbane aesthetic can relax. So far, the images look like classic Altuzarra including the python prints and burgundy velvets that have become part of his signature. They look great on Eva Herzigova who appears to be starring in the ad campaign.
Well, of course it looks good on a veteran supermodel. Will it look good on you? The designer has spoken to many media outlets and told them basically the same thing: The collection is aimed at grown up women, and both he and Target agreed that there should be no skimping on sophistication. Regular Altuzarra customers will recognize his focus on fit, which, to the uninitiated, means slim, high cut armholes and tight sleeves just like his ready-to-wear line. How this translates to Target customers remains to be seen, but the preview images are promising. There should be enough slender fashion fans salivating for this collaboration to released to assure a fast sell-through. Get a closer look at every item, including prices, on Target's new Altuzarra page. Have a look at all 24 outfits in the gallery below, and mark your calendar for the collection's rollout on September 14.

Altuzarra For Target (Official Web Page)
Previously:
Collaboration Anticipation: Altuzarra Meets Target This September

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