Anyone who’s anyone in fashion has a lower-priced line these days. Doo.Ri, Thom Browne, Thakoon, Comme des Garçons, and rag & bone, to name a few. Jil Sander now designs for Uniqlo. Anna Sui’s Target collection launches in mere hours. Jimmy Choo’s H&M line launches in November. Rodarte is also doing a Target line to launch later this year. Lower-priced clothing is like the Noah’s Ark of fashion, saving designers from the flood of premature discounts and unemployment contributing to depleted disposable incomes. The next to board will probably be Narciso Rodriguez, who is in talks with eBay to do an eight-piece collection with prices ranging from $75 to $350. Rodriguez says the partnership would bring his work to a wider audience. Though eBay is routinely sued by fashion companies for making counterfeit pieces available to the public, Narciso is happy to use the auction site for a lower-priced line since they have a ton of money and can pay him on time, unlike the many designer boutiques struggling to pay for orders in the downturn. Though it’s pretty difficult to imagine Narciso pieces for sale under the campy rainbow eBay logo.
Dotcom couture [NYP]
