Diane von Furstenberg is bringing her signature wrap dresses — and much more — to Target this spring.
The Minneapolis-based retailer announced Tuesday its next limited-time design collaboration will be with the legendary designer. The special collection made for Target, and at Target-like price points, will include more than 200 pieces across clothing, accessories, beauty and home.
Items will start at $4, and most will be under $50. It hits stores and its Target’s website on March 23.
Carol Spieckerman, a retail consultant, noted this announcement comes just days after Target unveiled a new bargain-oriented brand called dealworthy with prices starting at $1 and said it has made major upgrades to one of its other big value-based private-label brands, Up&up.
“It would seem that the Diane von Furstenberg announcement is meant to perhaps serve as a counterbalance to that to demonstrate that, ‘Hey, we’re not just doubling down on the cheap everyday essentials business,’” she said.
Some of Target’s recent design partnerships have been with more up-and-coming designers who are not yet household names.
With this partnership, Target has tapped a designer who has been on the scene for decades and resonates well with older shoppers, but it remains to be seen how much it will do so with younger shoppers, Spieckerman added.
These limited-time collaborations are one of the hallmarks of Target, cementing its reputation as a cheap-chic big box retailer. Other popular collections it’s released through the years have been with Missoni, Lilly Pulitzer, and Jason Wu. This is the 25th anniversary of its first design partnership with architect Michael Graves.
This is also the 50th anniversary of von Furstenberg’s iconic wrap dress. The designer launched her brand in the 1970s.
Furstenberg teamed up with her granddaughter, Talita von Furstenberg, who is co-chair of her namesake brand, on the collection for Target. They dug into the archives for some of the prints, but there are also some new patterns and pieces including matching mommy-and-me outfits and fresh spins on activewear.
“Talita and I are proud to partner with Target to extend that invitation to even more women who want to experience timeless pieces that bring effortless glamour and empowerment to their everyday lives,” von Furstenberg said in a statement.
In a first for a Target design collaboration, it will also include made-to-order furniture such as headboards, benches and room dividers that can be customized in one of seven fabrics, starting at $300. The items will be assembled and shipped within four weeks.
“Our partnership with Diane and Talita von Furstenberg represents Target at our best — curating an amazing and distinct assortment and offering it at exceptional prices,” said Jill Sando, an executive vice president at Target.
Von Furstenberg told Vogue that she’s already been carrying around one of the tote bags with a black and white vintage wave pattern from the yet-to-launch Target collection.
And while the fabric used for the wrap dresses in the Target collection are different from those used in her own brand, she told the magazine that the “price is ridiculous” at $50.
