Realizing the successes of designer collaborations with budget-friendly retailers such as Target and H&M, Macy’s recently announced that it will team up with acclaimed fashion designers to create a series of rotating collections for its contemporary fashion “Impulse” department.
The first capsule collection will hit 235 Macy’s stores and macy’s.com in February 2011 and will continue through the year. A new designer capsule will rotate onto the floor every two months, featuring limited-edition women’s apparel pieces. The designer to inaugurate Macy’s capsule collection series will be Kinder Aggugini.
Who?
Aggugini Spring '11 RTW, Style.com
I wondered whether kicking off the series with a designer the average Macy’s shopper has never heard of before was the best move. But once I learned about Aggugini’s accomplished background, I realized that having one of the industry’s best-kept secrets inagurate the collections is a brilliant idea.
The London-based designer has worked with fashion icons and design houses including John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Calvin Klein, Costume National, and Versace. He was born in the late 1960s in Italy, moved to London in the ’80s, graduated from the St. Martins School of Art, and began his career in London’s Savile Row, later landing a job with Galliano after showing up for his interview dressed as a police officer. Aggugini presented his first solo collection of both mens and womenswear in winter of 2006 and has created seven collections since.
Aggugini’s capsule collection for Macy’s will exhibit his covetable rocker-chic aesthetic. The collection will feature jackets, knitwear, dresses, and shorts with feminine and figure-flattering silhouettes in two contemporary color stories: grey and blue with purple prints and soft pink and black. Items will range from $40-$140, with specialty pieces up to $300. I’m especially looking forward to the silk shorts and Kimono-style dresses.
The capsule collections will bring a constant newness to the designs at Macy’s, hopefully making it a unique destination high-end fashion at affordable prices. The other designers in the series will be announced individually in advance of each capsule.
