I follow the constant stream of designer/ high street collaborations with great interest. The ones I was probably most excited about were the Lanvin for H&M, Versace for H&M and Maison Martin Margiela for H&M collections but I didn't buy anything from any* (although my boyfriend bought my favourite dress from the Lanvin collection because he's adorable) because ultimately they're made using the same fabrics, in the same factories and at the same fairly low quality standards of execution as the high street stores' mainline collections.
So I've made the decision that they're not worth the pricetag - if you want to buy into a designer's look but can't afford it, buy vintage, scour eBay, shop smart on designer discount sites like Cocosa or The Outnet, wait for the mega sales or buy high street "inspired by"s; don't buy the poor quality £160 sequin dress which everyone buys, you'll see on at least thirty girls that season before it becomes dated and you realise you only bought it because you got whipped up into a frenzy like the rest of the Regent Street queue, before it subsequently falls apart after one wash. I'm looking at you, Donatella.
I think it's cool that designers offer the middle market and average consumer access to their designs at entry level price points and it broadens their reach to a new, wider audience, but everyone is so obsessed with doing them that it's become such a retail trend and sign of the times with people aspiring to buy designer, but the belt-tightening of the recession still holds. Once the novelty wears off, we're bound to look back on the dozens and dozens of these collaborations as being very mid 00-10s-y.
Peter Pilotto Resort 2013
Anyway, another week, another designer collaboration - this time it's the LFW label Peter Pilotto (a definite favourite British brand) and American retailer Target, which will create a capsule collection of 70 pieces of womenswear, accessories and swimwear for Spring 2014, with prices ranging from $14.99 to $79.99. The limited edition line will be sold across most Target stores in the US and Canada, on target.com and the retailer has partnered with luxury e-tailer Net-a-Porter to sell a selection of pieces online to international customers.
The London-based design duo are the latest designers to join a roster of brands to collaborate with Target, including most recently 3.1 Phillip Lim, Prabal Gurung, Jason Wu, Zac Posen, Rodarte, Missoni and Proenza Schouler. Here's a sneak preview video of what to come. (Prints, obvs.)
*Actually, I did buy a pair of red jeans from the first Kate Moss for Topshop collection, but only because I wanted some red trousers and they were long enough, not because of the designer. Ooh, also, I am pretty excited to see the upcoming Isabel Marant for H&M collection...
