Dive Brief:
- Target is launching a Kate Spade collaboration on April 12 featuring fashion, home and entertaining items, according to a Wednesday press release.
- The limited-time collection features more than 300 products, including women’s, kids’ and baby apparel in extended sizes and adaptive styles, per the release. The line will also offer handbags, home accessories and larger items, such as a tent and a bicycle.
- Prices start at $5 and more than half the collection will cost $15 or less, although larger items will cost as much as $300, per the release. The line will be available in-store and online, but some items — such as a small capsule of Target-red handbags — will only be available for in-person shopping, per the release.
Dive Insight:
Pieces in Target’s Kate Spade collection reflected the reliably whimsical aesthetic the lifestyle brand is known for, and one of the line’s key themes is entertaining.
“Target continues to see strong guest demand for party essentials like décor, favors, stationery and more, along with ongoing interest in its dress shop and occasion-based dressing,” the company said in Wednesday’s release.
At a Thursday evening launch event in New York, that celebratory mood was on full display, with a custom cupcake pavilion, a pop-up martini shop and a garden-themed environment meant to showcase the Kate Spade brand’s upbeat mood.
Charlotte Warshaw, vice president of Americas wholesale, global licensing and collaborations at Kate Spade, said in Wednesday’s release that the brand “has always been rooted in joy.” She added that through the brand’s collaboration with Target, she hopes customers could “experience a little piece of the magic we've created together.”
The collection’s fashion offerings include colorful, ruffled pink dresses, polka-dot two-piece shorts sets, novelty charm jewelry and striped handbags. There are also graphic Melamine plates, inflatable party decorations, a checkers set and a wireless record player.
The partnership is designed to pair the Kate Spade style with Target’s legacy accessible design, Jil Sando, Target’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for apparel and accessories, home and hardlines, said in the release.
“Our teams worked together for two years to create this collection, and I can't wait for consumers to see everything we have to offer,” Sando said. “It’s stylish, affordable and loaded with items that’ll add plenty of joy to everyday moments.”
In 2024, Target released a collaboration with designer Diane von Furstenberg. The retailer was among the first to lean into “masstige” partnerships, and launched its first upscale collaboration in 1999 housewares collection with designer Michael Graves.
Meanwhile, Kate Spade has seen consistent revenue declines, with parent company Tapestry reporting a 10% year-over-year, second-quarter drop for the brand, on top of a 7% first quarter drop. New CEO and president Eva Erdmann joined the brand last year with a mandate to accelerate innovation to drive consumer connections and sustainable global growth, per a release. This collaboration with Target may be part of the plan to raise the brand’s public profile.
Tapestry, which also owns Coach, is working on a reset following the dissolution of merger prospects with rival company Capri Holdings. In an effort to focus on its handbag brands, the company recently sold its Stuart Weitzman footwear brand to Caleres for $105 million.
