Yesterday I was chatting with a friend who let on that she doesn’t really understand the hype of Target. As I stared back at her blankly I thought to myself, hello are you from another planet? Who doesn’t love Target… especially for giving us the brilliance of Go International? If like, my friend, for some reason you have been living under a dense rock and aren’t familiar, in 2006 Target realized that perhaps it needed something to pump up more teen dollars in spending. The answer was Go International a three- month stint for each designer chosen to sell a capsule collection of his or her goods.
Needless to say the idea has been wildly successful even beyond Targets dreams. Not only do teens clamor but so do the rest of us for fab wares by the likes of bigger better designers than their standard Mossimo, Merona or Converse brands.
Since it’s inception the three- month span of selling time has been cut to 45 days to keep things fresh and exciting for consumers and to lend a start for Designer Collaborations introductions, a separate program whose participants have included Alexander McQueen, Anna Sui and Jean Paul Gaultier.
So to mark the fifth year of its collaborations with these fashion forward up-and-coming designers, Target Corp. has wrangled 17 past participants in the Go International program to design a series of dresses.
Target will launch the collection of 34 dresses, called “Designer Collective”, on March 13 at target.com and most of their Target stores. The collection will be available through April 10.
This amazing crop of designers represents the range of talent targeted already by the uber popular retailer. The program has tackled a variety of styles and aesthetics — from laid-back So Cal threads to glam black tie to out of the box avant-garde. Luella Bartley, the awed Brit, and Tara Jarmon, the Parisian phenom, were the first and second in the Go series, followed by hipsters Paul & Joe, NY girl Behnaz Sarafpour, dynamic duo Proenza Schouler, edgy Libertine, floral fab Alice Temperley, uber cool Erin Fetherston, indie retro Jovovich-Hawk, eco guy Rogan, elegant Richard Chai, Jonathan Saunders, zen inspired Thakoon, Tracy Feith, out of the box Rodarte, Zac Posen and Tucker. Unfortunately, the super cool Patrick Robinson was the only designer to decline for this project due to other commitments.
Target has also developed jewelry, accessories and footwear categories based on the Go International idea from the likes of the amazing Mulberry, Temple St. Clair, Anna Sheffield and Miss Trish of Capri.
The Go International to date represents more than $100 million in sales.
