Target: Mission Missoni!

Last week, Target launched a line of clothing, housewares, stationary, luggage and more by the high end Italian knitwear design company Missoni.  I love Missoni because I am a fashion magazine junkie that loves their fun design and style but I'd have to say the majority of people I know from my area hadn't heard of them. When I told my husband they were having a line at Target he thought I said 'Mussolini'.

Scarves! Bikes! Luggage! Clothes! Margherita Missoni models the line for Target

Target promoted the hell out of the launch--magazine ads, commercials, online...on September 13th when the line went live, it literally crashed the Target website--the whole site. Customers excited to get their virtual hands on various items were greeted by Bullseye, the dog, Target's mascot and a message that the site was 'very popular' today--to please stay on and you'd get in ASAP.  Imagine the non-Missoni customer going into the site that day to buy cosmetics or toilet paper, Legos or CDs. The whole site was down.  I had the chance to make it over to my local Targtet mid-morning. Women were standing (guarding/blocking?) the racks, carts piled high with items screaming the Missoni signature zig zag design. They were buying it up and buying it all--luggage, comforters, sweaters, makeup bags, bikes (!), you name it. But the most popular of the line was the clothing.

Missoni is known for its colorful knitwear designs and the line for Target didn't disappoint--it offered cardigans, dresses, scarves, skirts (mini), hats...Some people (my husband) think the design is ugly. He calls it the 'squiggly jiggly' pattern reminiscent of Bill Cosby's famous sweaters on the Cosby Show (I am sure some of those were indeed Missoni). Evidence here:

Ahh, Bill and his sweaters...

Devotees of the line love the bold style of the family owned line (Margherita Missoni, the beautiful granddaughter of the founders, starred in all the ads). The Missoni style has a cult-like following with the celebrities and socialites (ok, rich people)--people that can afford a knit dress on Neiman Marcus.com for $1495 (did I mention anything knit can pull? Yikes!). A similar dress for Target sold for $54.99. That, and the limited availability of the line (it was scheduled to run for 6 weeks but sold out in many places the first day), made it quite popular.

All the hype about the Target site crashing caused a frenzy that day...on eBay. Yes, people purchased the Target items then re-sold them because they were not available online or in their stores. And I don't believe they were available internationally. I'm guilty--a few things I bought I didn't want so I posted.  2 days later the hype died down and while there are tons of listings still on eBay...I don't think it's as popular and the rush of folks clamoring to get their hands on the items has dwindled.

Kate in non-Target Missoni

Target heard a Twitterful when bloggers and customers posted negative comments about how difficult it was to access the site and how dare they promote it all and then not allow customers to buy! Oh my!

It's interesting--Supply and Demand--a full week has passed and now it's somewhat more accessible (albeit at a higher price) and people are not as Missoni-crazy anymore. It made me think, like I do whenever I get caught up in designer madness--do we really 'need' to have it or do we just want it knowing we can't get it?  And in this world of instant access to almost anything, do we feel entitled to get what we want when we want it?

That said, I was at Target yesterday, and they only have things for little girls left. I checked.