Designers Target savvy buyers

Catwalk cheap ... a model wears a dress by Australian designer Alice McCall for chain store Target

Just a week after it-girl Willow's limited-edition dress collection landed at Portmans stores and with few pieces left of Sportgirl's collaboration with fun Melbourne label Sisnme, Target today launches its own spring designer collection.

It features ranges by Melbourne label T.L. Wood and Sydney-based Alice McCall and Tina Kalivas.

The collections carry elements of each designer's signature style. Alice McCall uses her trademark bow patterns, Tina Kalivas's designs are elegant and feminine with an original bird print developed for Target; and T.L. Wood's classic designs are tailored and beautifully finished.

Larice Lewis, from Target, says the result is a stunning and diverse collection of designer garments at reasonable prices. They range from $70 for a top, $90 for a skirt and $150 for dresses and jackets.

Price point and mass production are the big differences from T.L. Wood's own spring/summer collection, the label's Teresa Liano says.

"We tried to keep the same essence as the range that is in our store now.

"It is beautifully constructed. We wanted to carry the quality and finishes, and the use of natural fibres, through to Target."

T.L. Wood's Target range includes a mix-and-match cotton/linen dress, jacket, skirt and vest; another three dresses, a sequined viscose cardigan, and one of the label's signature garments, a silk blouse that has a pussy-bow neck tie.

"It's just divine," Liano says.

The pieces, in sizes 8-14, are all in black and white which makes mixing and matching easy.

"It's giving the masses a taste of something beautiful," Liano says.

Liano admits it was scary, giving the label's ideas on a mass level, but "it felt right".

Overseas, Stella McCartney and Viktor and Rolf have both worked with high-street chain H&M, and the trend continues here.

Sportsgirl next month introduces a line called Metalicus for Sportsgirl, by the Melbourne company which is known for its stretchy basics. It follows limited collaborations in past years with designers including Flamingo Sands and Belinda Fairbanks.

Kalivas has previously collaborated on a collection for Kookai, as well.

The Target collection is going into 60 stores around the country.