It's not even clever to mock fashion reporting but I think this Proenza Schouler at Target story with its OMG!OMG!OMG! tone is especially horrific. Predictably, it reads like a press release: "They're a part of Target's Go International movement, which brings the work of young, successful designers to the mass market chain." (Thank you reporter lady, for 'splaining that!) Even the photography was supplied by Target so no one had to so much as leave their desk to create this story.
Honestly, maybe the real issue here is that I'm now officially sick of Target. I think it was the Beatles song that did it.
But back to Proenza Schouler: watch those buttons!
This is why Mimi Swartz is my all-time hero. For her Slate article, she tries on Target clothing and critiques it not only for what Ms White would call its "killer" look but for construction and fit. You can probably guess the conclusion -- "real fashion fanatics always want cheap, stylish clothes that don't look, well, cheap, and these new lines don't always solve that problem." Two years later, it's still one helluva relevant article.
4 comments:
"Parsons School of Design...of 'Project Runway fame."
Fuck me.
If you're going to play down to your audience, why even use words? Just use pictures and spell the captions phonetically.
Pardon me if I continue to love Target for all the reasons that relate to toothpaste, cheap wine and 3-packs of athletic socks.
I'm glad you caught that. Trying to impart style sense by reducing Parsons to a prop for a reality show? I was verklempt!
And yes: everyone needs cheap wine. I'm just not interested in renewing my membership in the "oooh everything Target does is so cool" house of worship.
Target is supah for laundry detergent, $1.99 strands of white Christmas lights, windshield washer fluid and the occasional storage item. I did get a cute bikini a couple of years ago (end of season - hey! it's marked down to $6.99...) Oh, candles too.
I don't mind their designer forays, I see them as PR money vs. cash they'll see returned in sales. Case in point - we are having this conversation.
Of course I left my desk to try check them out. Unlike you, apparently, I do a little research before I toss stuff up for other people to see.
And while I realize that the Parsons School of Design has a far greater influence on fashion than Project Runway, most of our readers don't. Why bother using words if people aren't going to understand them, right?
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