Anna Sui has signed on
to design for Target. Anna will be the second designer after Alexander McQueen to participate in the Designer Collaborations series, which features established designers. The line will launch on September 13, 2009 on Target.com and in 250 select Target stores. The line will be available only through October 17.
The new program also has an unusual conceit: designers draw inspiration from a collaborative partner, muse or creative element. Sui chose the four main female characters on the CW's hit show Gossip Girl.
Sui, this year's winner of the CFDA Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, has estimated annual sales of $20 million at wholesale, 14 global fragrance and cosmetics licenses and a 42-store franchise in China, Japan, Taiwan and Kuwait.
"I have always been a fan of designer partnerships with mass retailers," Sui told WWD exclusively. "I think it is a great way to bring fashion to everyone. I love Go International and was intrigued with Target's new take on designer partnerships. It's a fresh approach. I was able to select a muse or source of creative inspiration to focus the collection around. It is an exciting challenge to try and interpret my aesthetic into a mass-produced product with a specific inspirational source as the focus."
