As spending on luxury goods has decreased, many designers have begun collaborating with more mass retailers in an attempt to gain customers. Target is one of the forerunners in the designer collaborations, including collaborations with Alexander McQueen, William Rast and Zac Posen. Following in the footsteps of Target, H&M has also had notable collaborations including Lanvin for H&M which sold out almost immediately, and Versace for H&M. Most recently however, the Missoni for Target collection, was met with an uproar, as many customers were purchasing products and reselling them at escalated prices on Ebay(the Missoni bike sold for over $1,000), while many consumers were met with bare shelves at the stores.
Designer collaborations have been met both with warm and cold reception. Some view these collections as an opportunity to own designs that most people would otherwise be unable to afford. There are also those who are of the mindset that, if you're going to spend over $1,000 on a Missoni bike, why not just buy the "real" thing from the full Missoni line and that these collaborations "cheapen" the designer's name.
What do you think of Designer collaborations, do they dilute the brand or are they a good thing?
If you're a fan of collaborations, which brand would you love to see a collaboration with?
Image from Chicintution.com
