Originally published in

Target has become the melting pot where high-end fashion design meets the masses, bringing the runway to the city streets. The most recent example was Zac Posen’s 24-hour shopping soiree last night in Herald Square celebrating the launch of his collection for Target. 
 
Fashion, which was once only available to an exclusive elite, has spread like a democratic pandemic erasing the distinction between the high and low in apparel design. The diffusion lines and collaborations between high-end designers with lower priced, readily available retailers have forever restructured the class system of the fashion world.

The conspicuous consumption of the 90s was cut short by the market crash and what would become the worst recession in recent history. Consumer confidence has been crushed and the retail industry has hit an all time low. Conspicuous consumption has been replaced by careful, calculated, and socially conscious spending patterns. The savvy shoppers who once flooded the high-end boutiques are charting new territories: mass marketing retail stores, outlets, low- end retailers, and online sample sales.

Target was one of the first companies to recognize the trend and helped spread the fast fashion epidemic with its uncanny ability to pick the right designers to work with them. Through their Designer Collaboration, a unique program that features well-established designers who draw inspiration from a collaborative partner, muse or creative element, as well as the Go International program, focusing on younger and emerging designer fashion for the masses, Target has paved the way for the democratization of the retail industry. Target collaborations have continued to formulate a winning equation for both the designer and retailer- the designer gains notoriety, accessibility and visibility and the big box stores gain a level of buzz and credibility among the next generation of fashion savvy customers.

Zac Posen is the latest fashion designer to expand his brand into the mainstream marketplace by partnering with Target for their Go International range. His creative collaboration includes his iconic bias cut and flattering silhouettes that dominate the red carpets. His collection also included a variety of sharp darted and ruched bikinis and one pieces in either glitzy metallics or bright paint-splattered prints.

Posen has successfully managed to maintain a prominent place among fashion’s favorite women’s ready-to-wear designers since beginning his line in 2001. For Target, Posen proves once again he is no stranger to adapting, creating an impressive fashion equilibrium between his ready-to-wear, diffusion and now his fast fashion collaborative collection.

In addition to affecting lower- and middle-income consumers, the prolonged US recession has begun to impact high income, luxury brand consumers. YM Ousley, the publisher and founding Editor of Signature9 conducted a study called “Where the Wealthy Shop Online,’ from which he concluded, “At moderately priced stores, wealthy consumers are comfortable shopping at full price, but for luxury goods, these same high earners prefer to wait for seasonal sales or visit flash sale sites.”

Rather than snatching up the latest design in a high-end boutique or department stores, today’s wealthy shopper makes decisions based on price and is more likely to wait for the designs to appear in a massive chain store like Target, H&M or TopShop.

Since the inception of the Target’s collaboration with Alexander McQueen in March 2009, fashion designers have seemed enthusiastic about spreading their fashions to the masses as they were about their ready-to-wear collections. McQueen spoke with excitement about launching the collection, “Apart from the East and West Coasts, my company doesn’t have any visibility in the U.S.,” he said. “I always liked the idea of people in the Midwest wearing my clothes. The idea of this upstart from London going to where people haven’t heard of me, I think that was interesting to me.” And, he added, “I think it’s quite adventurous of Target.”

McQueen saw Target as a chance to “win over an untapped audience” and open his brand up to an extremely viable market. The concept of equating cost with style seems passé, whereas Targets motto “Design For All” is the ultimate in modernity and for now the future of fashion.

Zac Posen completely agrees with McQueen’s sentiment. “This definitely gives any woman the ability to get Zac Posen style, collection and attitude.” He is thrilled with the newfound ability to “really achieve democratization of fashion and show diversity.”

Posen expressed his concern for the viability of the fashion industry in an unstable economic climate, “Fashion is a money losing enterprise as an industry. The department stores need to change, the magazines need to change and evolve and the fragrance industry needs to change. I’m trying to shake up and change the industry. It’s resting on its’ laurels. It’s a really powerful time for the designers and for the companies to start redefining luxury beyond clothing.”

Although he was hesitant to collaborate in the past, Posen candidly explains his change of heart, “We need the money.”

Creating a collection for a different market does not devalue your brand if it is done correctly. Target works because they keep it true to the designer and it is not about watering down the fashion. Posen’s Target collection follows in Alexander McQueen’s footsteps as a perfect example of a taking a luxury fashion house and making it work for a different market because it is about the Design not the price tag. Fast fashion and collaborations with high-end designers like Posen and have proven to not only be examples of the current fashion zeitgeist, but also appear to be the fashion retail model for the future.