I like Rodarte a lot, and I love the Mulleavy sisters themselves even more. The sister design duo famously collaborated with Target & baby woman person blogger Tavi for the store's GO International designer collection for the holidays. The collection debuted sometime this week. I had some faith in it. Showed up at Target today and was once again disappointed. Well, as disappointed as one can possibly be at Target...there's always something to happy about in that god damn place. But anyway. Meh. It just made me roll my eyes again because it makes people who have a lower price-point seem yet again mentally challenged. Rodarte, do you really think that because that mustard lace sweater was styled so perfectly in Vogue & the collection lookbook, that i'm going to overlook the fact that it looks like shit in real life? Let's get serious now.The one thing I want to focus on if I ever get a career in fashion is to treat the average consumer with respect. Don't give and say "We want to reach out to the 'normal' people!" and then make the creations look like they would light up in flames if a spark of fire comes within 20 miles of it or that the consumer would appear straight up INSANE if they wore it. Where is the fun in that? Why should I empty $49 out of my pocket for a bad quality faux fur just because it says Rodarte on the label?
Compared to disasters like Alexander McQueen & Anna Sui's Target lines & the god awful 'celebrity' shit that Kohls & J.C Penney produces (Vera Wang, Lauren Conrad, even Charlotte Ronson), the Rodarte line is decent. The two items featured above really caught my eye and were truly beautiful. However, i'm waiting til they hit the sales racks.
I'm a firm believer in mixing high & low, but most importantly the amount of 'high' versus 'low' should depend on your financial status. I'd never spend too much money on fashion if I don't have it. That's the beauty of low-end fashion, thrift stores, places like Century 21/Loehmanns/Marshalls/etc. Is my dream purchase a Chanel lambskin chain strap bag? Absolutely. Is it a goal? ONE of them. Buying a house, saving my money, paying my bills, starting a business and real life things come first clearly. That's how most humans think but that doesnt mean I don't appreciate beautiful things. It's such a great opportunity for designers to truly put their talent and vision into both high and low end lines, done properly, which will result in more sales. Obviously high end fashion lines will be better quality and more precisely designed because after all, it is art. However, the Target lines of the world should just be thought out better. It's not rocket science! It's simple business & consumer psychology.
Moral of the story- just because some fashion lovers' price points may be lower than fashion lovers with huge bank accounts, it does not mean that we are blind, dumb, or deaf to reality, quality and taste. If you're going to spend time & money on the 'average consumer', which HEY is a pretty lucritive deal, do it right. More people are going to buy a beautiful affordable sweater than a $4,000 dress. It's a tremendous business opportunity for major designers and it's a shame so many of them complete the task so half ass. Get over yourselves.
ps- also, can Tavi please get out of everyone's face? She's in..7th grade. Cool that she knows so much and writes about it and gets Rodarte's attention but I'm sort of terrified. Am I being a cyber bully? When I was in 7th grade I was wearing cargo pants, picking popcorn out of my braces & writing in my journal in milky pen.
