Targeacute;t Couture Hops on Corporate-Chic Bandwagon
Consumers proved hungry for T-shirts bearing McDonald’s advertising icons this year, but will they beat a path to stores selling $300 cashmere sweaters with Target Corp.’s bull’s-eye logo?
Jaye Hersh believes celebrities and the wealthy are game to shell out premium bucks for premium clothes bearing the trademark of the Minneapolis-based discount retailer. The catch, Hersh said, is that these clothes must be witty and fashion-forward.
On May 11, Hersh, owner of Los Angeles–based celebrity boutique Intuition on West Pico Boulevard, will debut Targeacute;t Couture, a line of stylish T-shirts, premium denim, cashmere sweaters and designer handbags that re-interpret the Target logo in a way that would appeal to the Paris Hilton set or those going to a rock nightclub.
Target’s humorous marketing campaign inspired Hersh and Ross Misher, chief executive officer of Los Angeles–based Brand Central LLC, a licensing and brand consultant, to pitch Target at the end of 2004 with the idea of a designer fashion line.
“Who’s not paying attention to those commercials right now?” Hersh said of Target’s marketing. “It’s on everybody’s radar, so to speak. It’s a natural to partner with them.”
Hersh said she will initially sell Targeacute;t Couture at Intuition and Shopintuition.com. Eventually, she plans to wholesale it to other boutiques. The line, however, will not be sold at Target.
The vendors making items for the line include Mighty Fine, Raw-7, J&Co. Denim, Lizzie Scheck Jewelry and Madeline Beth Accessories.
The Targeacute;t Couture collection marks the first time Target has permitted an outside retailer to use its logo to create a fashion line. The line’s retail price points—far above Target’s norms—will range from $25 for costume jewelry pieces to $3,000 for diamond necklaces.
While consumers have long worn T-shirts bearing labels of beer companies and other brands, it only has been recently that America’s largest companies have shown interest in licensing their logos to clothing manufacturers.
Contemporary boutique Lisa Kline also is riding the crest of fashion’s corporate-chic fad with its line of McDonald’s T-shirts made by Mighty Fine, a Los Angeles–based knit top manufacturer. The reaction was so good that on May 5 Kline will debut a collection of T-shirts and accessories inspired by Mattel Inc.’s Barbie doll. Mattel will produce a museum- like display of Barbie dolls at the store to promote the line. —Andrew Asch
