MasstigeWatch!

Lots of exciting news today in the world of masstige! First and foremost, Zac Posen is doing a Go International line for Target [subscription required]. The collection hits stores April 25th and will be available through the end of May (I'll have more details in a few months). This comes on the tail of the announcement that Posen will launch an exclusive line for Saks, called Z Spoke [subscription required], also in the spring. While I was at first concerned that Posen was courting the edgy contemporary customer (in the WWD article, he notes an "urban hipster quality" and the desire to reach new women), Z Spoke will live on the 4th floor at Saks (home to Tory Burch, Tahari, M Missoni, and the like), and the accompanying photos give me hope that Posen won't forsake his retro-feminine vibe in order to chase the cool girls.

In other Target news, Rodarte officially hits stores December 21st, but Racked reports that select items will be available at the Target To-Go pop-up shop, which will be open December 11-13th, from 10-8, at Washington & Gansevoort Streets, right next to the High Line entrance. The To-Go shop will feature 50 pre-wrapped gifts, making your holiday shopping simple--and saving you a trip to the dreaded Atlantic Terminal Target.

We might have Victoria's Secret, but France has Sonia Rykiel, and so perhaps to compete with the former, the latter staged a lingerie fashion show today to promote her collaboration with H&M, which hits stores Saturday. As of now, you can watch the video here; in a few hours, full collection photos should be posted. While the models don't seem to be having nearly as good of a time as the Victoria's Secret Angels, this lingerie is actually wearable. The 70-piece collection hits 1,500 H&M stores worldwide on 12/5, and retails for $12-$114.50.

Anthropologie continues to impress me with their thoughtfully under-the-radar masstige collaborations; their latest is Lawan, a secondary line from knitwear designer Koi Suwannagate [subscription required]. The four-piece capsule collection retails for $228-$298 and includes two cardigans (one of which is pictured), a gown, and a sleeveless top, and three of the pieces are available now at Anthropologie.com. The collection is small, yes, but it looks very Koi, and yet very Antropologie at the same time (in other words, it's a perfect fit).

Finally, this isn't exactly Masstige per se, but it's certainly mass, and, so, well, I'm including it here: MNG by Mango is partnering with JCPenney. 75 stores will carry the brand as of fall 2010 (expanding to 600 stores by the following year), and JCPenney is planning on making Mango the centerpiece of its contemporary fashion department, which also includes Charlotte Ronson's I Heart Ronson and the Olsens' Olsenboye line (and, soon, Liz Claiborne, of which JCPenney will soon be the exclusive retailer). While Mango is a somewhat unexpected choice, I think it's a welcome one--Mango gets to expand rapidly across the U.S., and JCPenney greatly ups its fashion game. I have always been a big fan of Mango, and I hope it catches on in the rest of the country. Well played, JCP!

1 comment

Anonymous said...

Rykiel lingerie looks great, but the news about Liz Claiborne going even further downmarket is sad. 15 years ago I bought a great pair of pants at Liz C that I still wear sometimes... I was psyched for the Isaac Mizrahi takeover, but everything got even cheesier, and now JC Penney? :-( Sic transit.