Fashion wouldn’t be the same without its creative collaborations. They’re an opportunity for indie designers to breathe life into staid brands, for non-millionaire clotheshorses to afford a storied fashion house’s creations, and for the rest of us to gawk and evaluate (and, let’s be honest, sometimes judge). They’re an outlet for creativity and, often, a symbiotic relationship for company and designer. Here are a few collaborations we’re looking forward to this fall.
Billy Reid for Coach
Just like Coach, Alabama-based designed Billy Reid is known for his attention to quality and desire to create timeless, not trendy goods–plus, what Lucky magazine called an “all-American sensibility and impeccable craftsmanship.” It makes sense that the two are partnering on a capsule collection of precisely what Coach got its start doing in the 1940s: small leather goods. The collection, set to hit online and select stores in September, includes accessories for men and women with prices ranging from $250 for a simple leather wallet to $20,000 for a work-appropriate crocodile tote designed for the 1%. And while “Coach” may refer to the horse and carriage on the company’s logo, there’s something for the luxury-loving Little League coach here, too: soft baseball gloves in father and son sizes ($400 and $200, respectively). The collaboration comes at a time of transition for Coach as the company bids farewell to creative director Reed Krakoff, who has been with the label for 16 years, and transforms itself from a leather goods company into a luxury lifestyle brand.
3.1 Phillip Lim for Target
Bloggers have been gushing about Target’s latest designer collaboration, out Sept. 15, all summer. And no wonder: It’s a dream for the professional woman with creative flair. The collection is full of work-appropriate blouses, pants, dresses, sweaters, trench coats and more injected with a punch of Lim’s characteristic color-blocked, Roy Lichtenstein-inspired pop culture whimsy. (Yes, he brilliantly made pop art, animal prints and leather look work-appropriate.) All of the items are designed within a single color palette, so they look great together (and are thus destined to be bought together). Oh, and there are also cocktail dresses, pajamas, well-constructed purses … thankfully, everything is priced from $19.99 to $299.99.
Isabel Marant for H&M
In July, Swedish mass retailer H&M gave its Twitter followers a preview of its first-ever collaboration with cult favorite Marant–a pic of the designer herself trying on a slouchy, drop-waist black-and-white print dress and ankle boots from the collection. Marant’s H&M collection–available in stores and online Nov. 14–will showcase her bohemian aesthetic in designs for women, as well as her first-ever pieces for men. And from what we can tell, the shoes are definitely an upgrade from H&M’s typical conveyor-belt plastic offerings. We’ve still got a while to wait, but we’re sure H&M–famous for designer collaborations from Versace, to Sonia Rykiel, to Maison Martin Margiela–will keep rolling out the sneak peeks to keep us excited.
Jason Wu for Lancôme
This limited-edition makeup collection, rolled out last week during a presser at NoHo’s Indochine restaurant, will go on sale at Nordstrom (and Bergdorf Goodman in New York City) during New York Fashion Week. The line includes three lipsticks, three nail polishes in varying shades of red, black liquid liner, a combination shadow and liner brush, a navy-hued mascara, three individual pressed powder eye shadows, and eye shadow palettes–two of which include a rich Yves Klein blue, one of Wu’s favorite accent colors. Fashionista.com called it “gorgeous, girly and streamlined–no filler whatsoever.” And the packaging, to Wu, is just as important as what’s inside. He told WWD, “I think it will stand out on the beauty floor because I don’t think anyone else is using gray for their collection right now. I think the packaging part is as special as what’s inside.” Wu has already created a second collection for the cosmetics company, set to debut in 2014.
Birchbox/Ann Taylor
The style-box subscription service and the women’s-workwear giant launched a partnership on Aug. 14 to create a “Fall 2013 Style Guide” called “Ready. Set. Finished,” which will be included in the August Birchbox. It features Ann Taylor wardrobe essentials, paired with the top beauty trends of the season. Additionally, Birchbox subscribers will get 20% off any Ann Taylor item and 30% off any two items. To fete this occasion, the companies staged events in nine Ann Taylor store locations, each hosted by a local blogger such as NYC’s Jessica Sturdy of Bows & Sequins, Houston‘s Monica of Classy & Fabulous and Miami’s Lexi of Glitter & Pearls. (See a pattern among the blog names?)
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