McQueen goes high street
It was to be expected. After collaborating with Proenza Schouler and Behnaz Sarafpour, not to mention Stella McCartney and Zac Posen for the Australian market, mass market chain Target has signed up no less than controversial Brit fashion darling Alexander McQueen to fill up its railings for another predicted queue-churning designer collaboration.
A takeoff from the designer’s diffusion line McQ, it’s bound to be loaded with McQueen’s signatures: studs, mesh, tattoo prints (he’s got mermaids!) and loads of rock and roll and bondage flavor, albeit infinitely more wearable than the designer’s roll-outs for the couture catwalk. Alexander McQueen for Target gives a peek into the prolific artist’s musical predilections: rock and roll punk and underground grunge. His chosen muse for this partnership is British brand Duke Spirit’s lead singer Leila Moss, a cool blonde chick with a deadpan expression and an evident sense of style. “I was looking for someone with the uttermost feeling of McQ,” McQueen told WWD, who first broke the story. “We use icons in British music, and she stood out. She’s a great-looking girl and has a personal style. It fell into the idea of the New York underground music scene. It was more the atmosphere she portrays.”
The collection, out in Target’s US stores in March, follows Isaac Mizrahi’s swansong collection for the chain, and will kick off Target’s new Designer Collaborations program, a sister program of the Go International series that brought Proenza Schouler, Behnaz Sarafpour, as well as Luella Bartley, Rogan and Richard Chai, onboard. While Go International is intended for the 18-25 crowd, Alexander McQueen for Target and the succeeding collections for Designer Collaborations is slated to attract an older, more fashion-forward market.
McQueen, who has created amazing anatomical luggage for Samsonite and sleek, urban sneakers for Puma, plans to stock Target stores with lightweight sweaters, edgy skinny jeans, cheeky bubble dresses and cuffed shorts. Many of the signature pieces infuse a menswear vibe: black trenches, denim cropped studded jackets, tuxedo blazers and a palette of black, white, gray and tan. And just to add more bubblegum cheek, the designer also included “pink and black pieces and little prom dresses” that he asserts as his favorites.
