{STYLE} Announcing Target's New Line... AVA & VIV
Video via A Bullseye View
So following this morning's piece in Womens Wear Daily (OMG, I'm in WWD), the cat is out of the bag: this morning Target has officially announced their new plus-size collection, AVA & VIV. Many of you have pieced together parts of this story through little teasers on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook - but it is with a lot of excitement that I finally get to share this enormous secret I've been keeping: plus-size fashion is returning with a vengeance at Target. I was contacted by the team at Target a couple of months ago to come in to refine parts of the collection, work on social media strategy and promotion, and give feedback on how future seasons can expand and grow to cater to their plus-size customers in a more concerted way than ever before, (and I'm joining Gabi & Chastity in this effort). I had the opportunity to go to Minneapolis and visit the Target headquarters in December (it was a balmy 30-degrees; practically spring temps for Minnesnowta), see the first couple of deliveries as well as what is to come (great swimwear! coats! colorful textures and patterns!) from their all new in-house designed line.
That the line is designed in house is probably the biggest coup when it comes to Target's endeavors in plus. Previously, and by their own admission, the collection was all over the place - and the pieces were shopped from the marketplace leading to a disjointed, mish-mosh of inconsistent styles and sizes. Now, the collection works together as a cohesive capsule to mix and match from, with pieces that honestly do work from day to night and work to weekend. The intention is to find pieces that stand out and mix well into a foundation wardrobe - though you can find great essentials like black ponte pants and v-neck fees in a wide array of colors from AVA & VIV, too.
There are lots of hits in the collection (the joggers, white & black contrast trousers, great tencel and indigo pieces, and a khaki anorak that I love), and other pieces that just aren't me (my longterm fear of palazzo pants is still standing), but what I'm most excited about is knowing that there's an incredibly passionate and talented team working hard to do this right - with all the trials, errors, hits, and misses, that come along with that. AND - more broadly - that there are more options for women who are sized out of 0-12 collections to shop for affordable, on-trend pieces that are differentiated from the never-ending sea of basics. Full disclosure - Gabi, Chastity and myself came in too late in the game to give feedback on the design for their first run of production, but the team was really eager to get our honest input on what worked and what absolutely did not, so that they can steer future deliveries in the right direction, (and trust me, we went IN). It means a lot to me not just as a person in the industry but as a customer to know that the brand is actually intent on listening and learning from their mistakes with designing the line. So many brands and designers exist in silos and only ever integrate feedback from their own internal teams, but the people behind AVA & VIV (a pretty incredible team of designers, fit experts, textile designers, and design innovators from across fields) want to know where they've gone wrong - and they're fully aware of the many missteps with plus in their history.
There are lots of hits in the collection (the joggers, white & black contrast trousers, great tencel and indigo pieces, and a khaki anorak that I love), and other pieces that just aren't me (my longterm fear of palazzo pants is still standing), but what I'm most excited about is knowing that there's an incredibly passionate and talented team working hard to do this right - with all the trials, errors, hits, and misses, that come along with that. AND - more broadly - that there are more options for women who are sized out of 0-12 collections to shop for affordable, on-trend pieces that are differentiated from the never-ending sea of basics. Full disclosure - Gabi, Chastity and myself came in too late in the game to give feedback on the design for their first run of production, but the team was really eager to get our honest input on what worked and what absolutely did not, so that they can steer future deliveries in the right direction, (and trust me, we went IN). It means a lot to me not just as a person in the industry but as a customer to know that the brand is actually intent on listening and learning from their mistakes with designing the line. So many brands and designers exist in silos and only ever integrate feedback from their own internal teams, but the people behind AVA & VIV (a pretty incredible team of designers, fit experts, textile designers, and design innovators from across fields) want to know where they've gone wrong - and they're fully aware of the many missteps with plus in their history.
Down to the nitty-gritty details: with this initial launch, landing IN STORES (finally) mid-February and online February 22nd, you can find apparel up to sizes 26 & 4X, and trust me the stuff in the pipeline for AVA & VIV is even better than this initial launch (though I'm definitely wearing those joggers, chambray, and indigo pieces ASAP.) Prices will start at $10 and go up to $79.99, and there are 90-pieces in their first couple of deliveries - which means I've literally only seen a small fraction of the physical pieces, so far - and am excited to see the rest!
By the way, Gabi, Chastity and I also got to model in the AVA & VIV look book - styled by fellow #TeamMC editor and all around renaissance woman Zanna Roberts Rassi. I can't wait to see it!!!
By the way, Gabi, Chastity and I also got to model in the AVA & VIV look book - styled by fellow #TeamMC editor and all around renaissance woman Zanna Roberts Rassi. I can't wait to see it!!!
Thank you to Target for sponsoring this post.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.