S/S 15 Trend: PVC

Today’s rainy weather had me thinking back to several weeks ago when I saw the rain jacket I’ve always secretly wanted. I was scrolling through my endless emails when I came across a picture of a clear PVC rain jacket in one of my fashion newsletters. I immediately clicked on the link (and then proceeded to exit the page once seeing the price tag).

Seriously, what is more practical than a PVC rain jacket? It completely deflects the rain and keeps you looking super chic. Wearing a clear trench means that April showers won’t leave you covering up your fresh spring style. Best of all, PVC could easily be cleaned with a quick wipe-down. Women’s Wear Daily labels this spring/summer 2015 trend as “Playful Plastic”.

While I am totally on board for plastic trenches, in most cases the same practicality of PVC doesn’t lend itself to other apparel and accessories. While the plastic top looks cool, I’d imagine that gets super stiff and super sweaty in a matter of moments. The skirt is adorable but what on earth could you wear under that? And the dress? Forget about sitting… or breathing. My personal favorite offender is the visor. Isn’t the purpose of a visor to block the sun? PVC is much better for blocking rain.

While fashion certainly isn’t always about practicality, these “Playful Plastics” seem like they are no fun to wear.

images from WWD and WGSN

Goodbye C Wonder

Lifestyle brand C Wonder is another ending chapter for Chris Burch. After three years in business, the company is closing it’s doors. Chris Burch created the brand to get back at his ex wife designer of the luxury lifestyle mogul Tory Burch. Burch launched C Wonder boutiques who's products mirrors the Tory Burch design esthetic for a discounted price. Burch says most of the ideas behind his ex-wife brand were his to begin with and this was his way of getting back at her.

The idea was entertaining to say the least. Burch purposely placed his C Wonder boutiques directly next to the luxury giant in hopes to take away her business. The designs were almost identical, having a similar product mix and being marked at a lower cost. However, his fire and passion to make it work wasn’t enough to keep the company alive and going.

Comical or not the downfall of C Wonder was being overambitious. The Tory Burch customer is brand loyal and shopping to be seen with that brand. It takes time to develop a client following and C Wonder spouted out way too many stores too quickly.

Chris Burch business also came short by not defining who their customer is. It seems like the time was spent wisley by spending too much energy worrying about taking a customer away from Tory Burch instead of bringing in a customer of their own. These are two different target markets. The Tory Burch customer does not care if it similar product at a lower price, they care about the prestige. This where Wonder fell apart. What the company should’ve spent time doing was developing it’s own market and redefining itself as not Tory Burch customer. The products were just too similar and if anything customers felt that it cheapened his brand and didn’t reach out to the C Wonder client.

My Best Dressed at the Golden Globes

Golden Globes is not only one the biggest nights for television and movies but also for fashion. This is a time where celebrities whip out their best looks for the New Year to set a precedent for what is yet to come. Two obvious trends for the Golden Globes last night was the winter white/neutral color scheme along with metallics and here are my favorite looks of the evening. 

Emily Blunt

Sometimes simplicity is key and Emily Blunt looked completely agrees. This Michael Kors gown complements her figure and skin tone and adding the messy up-do completely shows off this show stopping look. By successfully accenting this minimalist look with large turquoise earrings, this winter white gown has that extra pop to complete the overall look.

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon was nominated for one of the biggest awards of the night and she dressed for the occasion. Stemming away from her classic look, she stepped onto the red carpet in this Calvin Klein gown. Normally, Reese aims for simple elegance in a classic red or black dress but I think that this a more risqué look for her. This close-fitting gown wasn't the only reason that she looked like a sparkling goddess. Reese accompanied this silver gown with over a million dollars of Tiffany jewelry. Lets just say this look has it all!

Sienna Miller

Everyone’s been marveling over the countless celebrity looks from last night but my personal favorite was Sienna Miller. Her dress successfully combined the two trends of the Golden Globes into one fabulous look and she completely rocked it. Combining the flowery fabric and beading, this champagne Miu Miu dress aims for bohemian glamour as well as giving off an antique vibe. Even though this dress has a lot going on, it somehow all works together. Sienna Miller stole the night away in this plunging beaded neckline and she has never looked more glam. 

Target Spring 2015 Collaboration!

             On Thursday, January 7, Target announced the company’s spring 2015 collaboration with Lilly Pulitzer. The 250 product line addresses the categories of womenswear, girls, swim, beauty and home (wwd.com). The price point ranges from $25 to $250, though 200 of the products are expected to retail for roughly $30 (fashionista.com). 15 new, undeniably Lilly Pulitzer prints were designed exclusively for this collaboration with Target (forbes.com). Additionally, this is the first collaboration where Target is carrying plus-size options in womenswear (peoplestylewatch.com). The collection will launch in stores and online on April 19, just in time for spring break. It sounds like this collection is prepared for great success, though some are hesitant to get behind it.

            Many avid Lilly Pulitzer shoppers turned to Twitter as an outlet to express their frustrations with the collection. Refinery 29 posted an article titled 39 Girls Who Are Mad As Hell About Lilly Pulitzer For Target. In this article multiple tweets are referenced, one being “if people say they got something from Lilly at Target…the name will lose its prestige. The brand was kinda built on class” (refinery29.com).  Overall, it seemed that the majority was most concerned with this collaboration degrading the Lilly Pulitzer brand image.

            Feeling curious, I started to research if there was a similarly negative reaction to the Altuzarra for Target collection, which launched in September 2014. Unable to find anything substantial, I asked myself what is it specifically about Lilly Pulitzer for Target that some are finding offensive.  Past collaborations have been wildly successful, particularly the partnership with Missoni which caused the Target website to crash and stores sold out of product in a matter of days.  Personally, I think the cause of these mixed reactions is that Lilly Pulitzer isn’t exclusive enough.
          A classic Lilly Pulitzer shift dress ranges in price from $168 to $288.  According to missoni.com, that would buy you a winter knit hat on markdown, and a comparable dress in silhouette and fabrication is over $2,000 at full price. Therefore, middle to upper-middle class Americans can likely afford Lilly Pulitzer whereas a small percentage can afford Missoni. I think Missoni for Target felt like a dream come true while Lilly Pulitzer for Target might be like shopping the outlet store. Still, the preppy aesthetic is popular, plus-size is an important market, and the products appear well designed from the look book. For these reasons I predict that many Americans will still shop the collection. As for me, I’ll be on the sidelines waiting for reports on those April 19 sales figures to roll in.

Bibliography:
http://fashionista.com/2015/01/lilly-pulitzer-target-collaboration
http://www.forbes.com/sites/celiashatzman/2015/01/07/get-a-first-look-at-the-lilly-pulitzer-for-target-collaboration/

http://www.refinery29.com/2015/01/80415/lilly-pulitzer-for-target-reactionhttp://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2015/01/08/target-lilly-pulitzer-plus-size-collection/
http://www.wwd.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/retail-news/mass-off-price/target-links-with-lilly-pulitzer-8091071

Dapperling by Lilly Pulitzer

The new, big to-do recently is the new collaboration being planned between Lilly Pulitzer and Target. The 250- piece collection will hit the target racks on April 19^th 2015 across the United States and Canada.  The collection will be for women and girls and will include accessories, shoes, beach apparel, home décor, beauty and travel essentials.  The collection will also feature 15 new and exciting prints that have not yet been seen from past Lilly collections.  Stacia Anderson, the senior vice president of apparel and accessories at Target says, “This spring, we want to offer our guests a collection that embraces color, print, and pattern in a bold, fresh way.”

         This collaboration has stirred up quite a commotion from some of the loyal Lilly customers.  Some say that they do not believe Target is “classy” enough to sell their beloved Lilly Brand, or it is too “exclusive” to be sold in their stores.  Others are upset that dresses they have previously purchased for a couple hundred dollars will be made at a cheaper price point.  These are all selfish reasons of course and Lilly Pulitzer for Target is expected to wow both Lilly and Target customers. 

 This is an unusually big deal for Ana, a recent graduate, Jessica and myself because for our CIMM collection last spring; we created a Lilly Pulitzer line for Target.  Our collection was a Spring/ Summer clothing line for little boys called Dapperling.  It featured shirts, pants, shorts, blazers, and many furnishings in a variety of fun and playful colors and patterns.  It is pretty exciting to know something we thought and worked incredibly hard on a year ago is about to really happen.   I can’t speak for Ana or Jessica, but I am really excited to see how this collection turns out. 

Flashback to Fashion Week

I will never forget the thrill of attending fashion week. At the time, I was working for fashion stylist Amy Salinger as her media and brand manager. She kindly invited me to shadow her and attend Jill Stuart, Rafael Cennamo, Son Jung Wang and a few other F/W 2013 collections. Every season her invitations piled up, giving her the pleasure to pick and choose her “must see” shows. After years and years of attending fashion week, the passion died out and it became more of a routine. However, as a newcomer, I could hardly wait to jump headfirst into the fashion week scene, wearing my favorite heels of course.

First up: Jill Stuart. Amy politely pointed out the eccentric styles around us as we waited to take our seats. Some were more practical than others, but I will never forget the outrageous combinations of bold prints and colorful furs. After being amused by those around me, I noticed a familiar face not too far from where I was standing. Before even realizing it was my cousin Alexa, I was appreciating her subtly chic sense of style in my mind, which was not overdone like most in the line. My cousin Alexa happened to be attending the show, with the help of her friend who does public relations for Jill Stuart. The fashion world isn’t that big after all, I thought to myself. Just minutes after taking our seats, the music blared and the models began their strut. The collection was dominantly black and navy, with progressions of rose-colored flouncy dresses. Overall, the collection had darkly romantic undertones, but stayed true to the brands girly image.

My favorite opportunity of the day, aside from the Jill Stuart show, was attending Rafael Cennamo’s couture presentation. First and foremost, a fashion presentation is very different than a fashion show. During a fashion presentation, the designer will create an environment representative of the collection. The models will either be standing or sitting in a group, styled in the latest pieces from the line. Groups of individuals wait to enter the room, and are able to walk right up to the models to view the intricate detailing of the clothes. Attending a fashion presentation helps the audience to appreciate the work that goes into the construction of the garments. This was personally my favorite, because of the intimacy between the clothes and the audience. Also, I was able to get right up to the models and snap a photo without worrying about a blurry photo. I was amazed with Rafael’s beautifully constructed gowns, draped and ruched lavishly in gold.

As the day started to wind down, I was excited to take off my heels and exit the crazy world of fashion. If there was one thing I learned through this experience, it is that there are thousands of individuals stepping into Lincoln Center to feel somewhat a part of this industry. Seeing the accessibility of these shows also outlines a very important point, that it’s not what you know, but who you know.