Tiffany's For Bubble Gum Machine?

Vera Wang is doing it. Rodarte, too. Sonia Rykiel, Hello Kitty and Costello Tagliapietra are getting in on the action. And, of course, Zac Posen. No, they're not designing around similar color schemes or for avant garde events. They're all creating looks for less; inexpensive collections made specifically to be sold at massive retail stores.

It started with Isaac Mizrahi for Target in 2002. His collection was wildly successful, going until 2008 and completely revamping both his and the Target brands (he went on to design for Liz Claiborne.) It wasn't long before H&M commissioned their own big names, teaming up with Stella McCartney in 2006, Comme des Garcons in 2008, and Jimmy Choo in 2009, among others.

Jimmy Choo for H&M ad

Both retailers have long been utilized by bargain hunters for their affordable, trendy clothes, but H&M looks are so mass-produced you always run the risk of finding your evil twin at a party. And Target finds could occassionally look, well, cheap.

(There are exceptions to this, though. I bought a gorgeous purple dress from Target's Mossimo line a few years back for about $20, and I ended up wearing it for New Years. It was a huge hit, and very well made. Plus, nobody else had it or even had an idea of where I'd gotten it.) 

Customers that may love Costello Tagliapietra's easy dresses but not their uneasy $400 price tag are the key demographic for this type of campaign. They can pick up a $30 version from New York-based, Japanese store Uniqlo, and if they love it, they may shell out for more expensive pieces from the line. Bam! A new customer.

But the reverse works as well; when I was at the Target shopping party, I saw women there who looked like it was the first time they'd gone past 5th Avenue in YEARS. I could just imagine them clutching their jewelry and repeating, like a mantra: "It's a recession. It's a recession."

This partnership between retailer and designer works out for all parties: the big name gets their looks out to people who may never been able to afford it before, the consumer gets high-end looks AND quality for less, and the retailer gets big sales, big names, and the customer who may have been just a bit too snooty for Target before.

They can just be content with calling it 'Tar-jaayyy, dahling.'