For weeks we have been anticipating the launch of Rodarte for Target. It’s the perfect designer mash-up. Rodarte’s clothing is thousands of dollars even on sale. So to get your hands on great design for a very novel price is well, novel. In this case, Target left out an important component of a successful collaboration–quality. There needs to be some semblance of quality to the garment no matter how inexpensive the price tag.
Yes, the Rodarte line looks great. We’ve been eyeing that black sequined ribcage dress since early pictures hit the Internet. When we actually felt the dress our hearts sank. The front is great looking but the back feels like a Disney fairy princess costume. The same goes for many of the Target garments. As a matter of fact, we looked through the entire line and couldn’t find a natural fabric besides for a few tee-shirts.
The pretty camisoles are a horrid polyester. Silk can be sourced for so cheap. Come on! The crepe floral wrap dress feels like a flame retardant pajama. The faux fur vest might be better used to scrub pans.
We understand the pressure to raise profit margins in tough economic times but Kate and Laura Mulleavy must have questioned the quality being used to execute their creative vision. For us, we rather admire $5,000 dresses and never own one than to overlook quality for a name on a label.
Luckily brand appeal is prevailing. A fitting room attendant told us the line is doing very well. If you must buy something from the Rodarte collection go for the floral wind breaker or the mesh lace cardigan. In both cases the material and design are suitable.
Going forward we hope that Target execs will look back to the quality lines they did with Rogan, Thakoon and Templerly London. All are great examples of Target designer collaborations. Unfortunately, it looks like a CFO had the most significant input in this Rodarte collection.