Loomstate for Target is set to debut in stores this Sunday but my West Coast correspondent attended a sneak preview at Big Red Sun in Venice, CA last night. On hand to celebrate were designers Rogan Gregory and Scott Hahn, along with the boys from Entourage and several models. While the festivities were fun, the collection was less than spectacular. Here's her review - including nine IRL photos - unedited!
Women's - There's nothing to write home about here, in fact the collection feels really "phoned-in." So boring, I actually don't remember any one piece of clothing except the bikini - and I'm pretty sure that's because it was the only bikini in the collection. It was ninety percent t-shirts, with a few extra pieces that seemed to have been thrown in for good measure. I'm wondering, too, how anyone thinks that silkscreening intentionally-distressed, vintage-inspired images onto crappy fabric is in any way innovative. I've had hipster friends who were doing that to their clothing five years ago. They tried to create continuity in the line by carrying this mini-bird graphic over onto several garments, but it was virtually impossible to tell what you were looking at, unless you were standing directly in front of it.
The more tailored (if I can call them that - everything was pretty shapeless) women's pieces were really uninspired, and a little hokey - sleeveless cotton tops with mock turtlenecks (and one tiny, decorative pocket if you were lucky). One gray dress was sort of cute at first glance - tshirt style, hitting mid-thigh, some thoughtful silkscreen detail inside the garment - but when I touched the piece, I thought the fabric was MUCH too thin to ever wear in public. I actually asked someone (wearing another one of those silly bird-print SUCKscreened shirts - maybe I should have known better) if it was a beach cover-up. She looked at me like I had just sworn on Christmas.
The entire line looked marvelously like Target's other cheap-o collections (Mossimo, Xhilaration) but with a 20% higher price tag. In my opinion - even if you have a lower price point than most brands - if you're trying to get the general public hooked on environmentally-concious products like organic cotton, it's important to demonstrate within the garment why it's better. And these pieces felt like they were about to fall apart.
Menswear - Much better. The colors were still, like in the women's line, fairly depressing for Spring and Summer. I love wearing charcoal, and grayer tones of blues, but not when I'm getting ready to swing it in a bikini. And if, as a designer, you won't slap the plastic for a decent yellow dye, DON'T BOTHER. It looks cheap, and I'm envisioning it on the clearance rack in eight months.
But in terms of form, the menswear was on the right track. There was one jacket in particular that was very cute - and unlike in the Women's line, where only one sad, lonely bikini was to be found, the guys had three swim trunks to choose from that looked well-made, and were fairly colorful. And the plaid shorts were pretty sexy, too. I wouldn't mind making out with a guy who wore those plaid shorts. The Men's presentation felt more like a collection...though, again: ENOUGH WITH THE SILKSCREEN!
Guest blogger - Lalla Robinson
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