12.1 Fantasy Fashion Collaborations



Estrella doesn't look happy.

The world of fashion collaborations can create excitement and chaos or it can create an uninspired attempt to cash in on fashion. More specifically, celebrity collaborations. We've seen the attempts of some fledgling design houses hoping to bank on the endorsements of these celebrity collections. For example, why would Ungaro select a 23 year old who is prone to meltdowns and court dates to "design" their collections? Possibly the promise of generated cash and publicity through the celebs' popularity.
Why do they fail? Inauthenticity. Creating the magic of a successful collection ostensibly goes far beyond the allure of the celebrity. Let's look at Sarah Jessica Parker's line, Bitten. SJP was still riding high on the success of SATC. Fans were expecting more Carrie Bradshaw and not middle America, mom approved attire. It is best when the idea of the clothing lines up to what the celebrity represents and the company represents. People want to know that the essence of the celebrity or what the celebrity represents is imprinted on the clothing.
Best Collaborations: Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony. Chloe created a grunge inspired line that was inspired by her own style. Kate the Great's collaboration with Topshop embodied her rocker chic style that many emulate. David Beckham for H&M is also another highly successful campaign. We don't need to say why.

What they got was this.

Kate Moss for Topshop.




Fans were expecting this.

Worst Collaborations: Lindsay Lohan for Ungaro. Widely panned by critics at Paris Fashion Week. SJP, Bitten/Steve and Barry's. Bitten bit the dust. Avril Lavigne, Abbey Dawn/Kohl's


What celebrity/designer collection would you like to see?

Couture/Pret-a-Porter Designers Collaborate 

with Fast Fashion Retailers

We all are blithely aware of the major H&M collaborations with major designers including:




2004: Karl Lagerfeld
2005: Stella McCartney, Elio Fiorucci, Solange Azagury-Partridge
2006: Viktor & Rolf
2007: Roberto Cavalli
2008: Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons
2009: Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo, Sonia Rykiel
2010: Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin
2011: Versace
2012: Versace, Marni, Maison Martin Margiela
2013: Isabel Marant
2014: Alexander Wang

Now after seeing this list of major designers who have successfully integrated into one of the world's most successful fast fashion retailers, we must critique. The idea of these luxury/high end designers is to encompass the essence of exclusivity, which is not easily accessible. This idea drastically changed when we allowed for designers to bring their creative genius into a more affordable price point. Fashionistas everywhere were lining up outside the doors to run and grab all they could before the pieces sold out. We see the craftsmanship and quality that went into these pieces compared to a normal garment from H&M. We even once again saw that celebrities were endorsing the product, even though they are unavailable now. This idea of high end designer collaborations seems to be a brilliant idea from our favorite fast fashion retailer.

While H&M is thriving each year from these designer collaborations, we see that Target has received the short end of the stick to a means. While they attempted to engage in designer collaborations (and had initial success), the second round seemed to fail. But why must we ask? It surely was not the designer line up that failed. Rather, the retailer that was selling it, in my opinion. While most Target shoppers are there for daily goods, most would not pay the price point of some items offered for the collaboration. The Alice + Olivia bicycle was eaten up by fashion junkies, but not necessarily the mass public. Had these collaborations taken place in a more appropriate setting or even more interest in what the masses wanted, possibly the collections would be more successful.

So now one must ask themselves, are designer collaborations going to be next big trend? Could we maybe even see more couture/pret-a-porter collaborations (John Galliano for Maison Margiela)??? Will celebrities be the face still? If only we had all the answers to these questions...