Target's Jason Wu Line May Not Be 'Missoni Mania'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Remember when classic designer Missoni's merchandise showed up at Target in September? Remember all the disappointed people who couldn't get their hands on it before it disappeared?
Target has been selling designer stuff since Michael Graves back in 1999. But Missoni was the first one to crash the store's website, and now we're getting a look at Target's next "limited time" collection.
The designer is Jason Wu, best known for designing Michelle Obama's inauguration gown, but this time around, there are some reasons the buzz might not be quite as big.
When the Missoni collection hit the stores, Keegan Shoutz was in line, ready to pounce.
"A couple pairs of socks, a tie, some dishes," he said, rattling off everything he bought, "and I was really excited about the housewares stuff."
In fact, he was wearing his Missoni socks today at the Lola Red PR firm, a fashion-forward office that came to a stop when pictures of new Jason Wu collection hit the internet yesterday afternoon.
"We spent the end of the day all grouping as an office," said Allison Dent, "reviewing the photos."
As a group, they liked the designs, but this is a smaller collection, without anything for men. And unlike the signature Missoni zigzag, these clothes don't have a distinct design that screams Wu's name, so it's not screaming out for them to line up on day one.
"I don't think I'll go on day one," said Dent. "I'll just wait until I make my normal Target run, and then I'll swing by and see what's there."
"How they handle that this time around will be very interesting," said David Brennan, professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas.
In fact, Target tells us they'll limit this collection to 1,200 stores, not all 1,800. They've also beefed up their computer system, and will spend extra time warning customers that limited quantities really are limited.
"I think that's fine," said Brennan, "but realistically most people will not want to understand if they are the first person who did not get what they were looking for."
The Jason Wu collection hits the stores Feb. 5. You'll probably start seeing ads about a week before that.
