Just a little background on Mulberry, Target and this collaboration.
Mulberry is a British luxury design label, previously old-school but getting trendy in recent years. Their most notable famous "It" bag is based on the famous British "It" girl, Alexa Chung.
Alexa Chung has a wiki entry of her own. I first knew of her while reading fashion and style magazines and blogs. She also did a show with Gok Wan of "How to look good naked" fame.
Alexa Chung carrying the Mulberry bag named after her, the Alexa
Target has been collaborating with big names to produce limited-edition items which are both jaw-dropping and saliva-inducing at the same time. Some names which I can recall offhand are Liberty of London for Target, Jean-Paul Gaultier for Target (I was lucky enough to snag a JPG for Target dress!) and Sonia Kashuk (Target carries her make-up line, which is named after herself).
In my book, the designer collaborations with Target are similar to what H & M have been doing with Comme des Garcons and Jil Sander and Karl Lagerfield. It's about bringing high fashion (or luxury fashion) to the mass market at an affordable price. One does not truly expect the same quality of fabric from a designer collaboration selling in Target for USD$49.99 and a similar item from the designer from his main label selling in upmarket stores for USD$149.99.
What I do expect from such designer collaborations are:
1) Unique designs in the style of the designer; or
2) If the designer is known for expert cuts and well fitted clothes, then the clothes should fit well even if they are selling for a cheaper price; and
3) Slightly better fabric quality for the designer collaboration vs a non-designer collaboration selling in the same store. I trust that the designer will put his/her foot down and insist on using a basic quality of fabric, which should be slightly superior to the other unknown or private label brands being sold in the store.
Mulberry for Target will go on sale 10 Oct 2010 but as with most releases, these bags will only be sold in USA. So you might have to figure out who you can pay to get these bags into Singapore or wherever you are based in the world. Me? I'm mentally checking my USA contacts even as I type this.
