The Rise Of Designer Collabs

By Sharmin Musca on December 11, 2012 in Other

The latest designers of note to embrace the ‘collab’ phenomenon are Martin Margiela and Roberto Cavalli. Margiela is collaborating with international retail giant H&M and Cavalli with Target Australia, creating unique luxury-for-less womenswear lines.

And who wouldn’t be happy with the rise of the high street/designer collab? With designer threads now priced at a level that us mere mortals can afford, and produced with quality and in limited numbers, it creates camping-out-in-long-queues-for-hours brand hype while increasing the accessibility of designer labels – a win-win for all.

Internationally, H&M leads the way with an impressive list of designer collabs from Lanvin to Donatella Versace. Closer to home, jewellery chain store Lovisa has just launched its collab line ‘Collette’ with Collette Dinnigan, and following the success of Target Australia’s past collaborations with the likes of Stella McCartney and Zac Posen, it has made the bold commitment to churn out four to five collabs a year, working with both local and international designers.

Collaborations have not always been rosy. Before Stella and Zac brought fashion to the style-starved aisles of Target, and before Karl Lagerfeld became the first designer to collaborate with H&M, Roy Halston launched his collab line with US department store JC Penney. Although the line was a hit and Halston became a household brand, its prestige was lost as elite New York stores stopped selling its higher-priced lines.

Halston, since resurrected with the help of Sarah Jessica Parker, was thirty years ahead of its time. Today the collab is retail’s answer to the economic climate – a savvy idea injecting new buzz into top-end labels and bringing design concepts to a wider audience.

To see the latest designer collabs, or to check out more street style, visit facebook.com/personalstylist.net.au.

On the streets I found:

Name: Axelle
Lives: Tamarama
Occupation: Marketing Director
Street Style: Axelle’s dress and belt are both by Pretty Bird, her shoes are from a Moroccan market and her sunglasses are Gucci.
Fave Item This Season: New beach bag.

Name: Katee
Lives: Bondi
Occupation: Student
Street Style: Katee stole her dress from her sister. She carries a denim shirt from Topshop and wears a Chanel bag, Mimco sunglasses, a necklace from Berlin and shoes from a Serbian market.
Fave Item This Season: Dress by One Teaspoon.

Name: Bianca
Lives: Bondi
Occupation: Sales Manager
Street Style: Bianca makes a statement in a kaftan from Bondi label Mee and Moo, sunglasses by Abe & Sara, Eos shoes from Max’s Bondi and a Trenery bag.
Fave Item This Season: White cut-off J Brand shorts.