Closet Case: Target to Collaborate with Neiman Marcus

Target has collaborated with many high-end designers in the past including Jason Wu, Missoni, Zac Posen, Anna Sui, Thakoon, Erin Fetherston, Luella Bartley, Proenza Schouler and Jonathan Saunders. More recently Target collaborated with five specialty boutiques across the country including The Webster of Miami, Privet House of Warren, Connecticut, Polka Dog Bakery of Boston, the Cos Bar of Aspen, and The Candy Store of San Francisco. First Target offered designer looks for less, then access to high-end specialty stores. So what could possibly be next for the bullseye?

Image via Target Style

Target's newest collaboration will be a partnership with high-end, luxury retailer, Neiman Marcus. The limited-edition collection will bring together 24 designers, all members of the CFDA, each of which will contribute 1-3 pieces to a collection with about 50 pieces. Designers currently attached to the project include Tory Burch, Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta. Unlike previous collaborations, this collection with be in the stores and on the sites of both retailers starting December 1st. The collection will contain a variety of items including apparel for women, men and children as well as home decor, sporting goods and accessories spanning a large price range of $7.99 to $499.99.

Image via Jurug

New York City-based fashion re­tail analyst, Hitha Prabhakar, described the collaboration stating:

“Neiman Marcus is a super high-end store that sells couture, very expensive items. Target is more for the masses, but it’s still a high-end big box store. The stores’ demo­graphics actually do overlap and look like a Venn diagram.”

Neiman Marcus did the research on Target before the partnership was ever proposed and found that many of it's customers shopped at Target for kitchen or household items. Neiman Marcus’ vice president of corporate communications, Ginger Reeder, stated:

"We knew there were traits from both stores that appeal to customers. We’ve always been respectful of their design sensibility, and we’ve kept an eye on what they’ve been doing for a while."

The collection will be sold in all Target and Neiman Marcus stores and will be available on both websites. Target hopes that having the collection available in multiple locations will help the store avoid problems they experienced with the launch of previous collections like Missoni. The day the Missoni collection launched, Target's website crashed for most of the day and many pieces sold on eBay for inflated prices. The goal of the Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection is to capitalize on Neiman Marcus' relationship with high-end designers combined with Target's ability to sell products on a mass-market level.

What do you think of this concept? Are you excited about the Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection? Does making designer pieces more accessible make them less desirable?

Sara Neely is a Fashion Blogger for Ruffled Feathers. You can read her personal blog and follow her on Twitter.

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