When you attach an exclusive brand name to a collection, expectation becomes that much higher and often, in reality, what you get is a knocked down version.

Almost every month I hear about a new collaboration between a high street retailer and luxury brand.  While these partnerships use to be unique, they’ve become more and more commonplace as both parties realise the commercial and PR success they can have from them.

I’m going to be honest and say I’m a sucker for a collaboration and if I can get my hands on it I usually will.  However, this has led to triumphs and disappointments.  Most recently I bought a few pieces from the Target x Victoria Beckham collection.  This was an extensive collection with 150 pieces across women and childrenswear.  I was very excited by it as I thought she did a really great job of incorporating some of her signature styles such as the drop hem and scallop detailing into this budget line version.

Having said all of that I couldn’t help but be disappointed when the pieces I ordered arrived (a baby pink shift dress with rabbit collar and a pink romper).  It’s not that I didn’t like them but when I had them in hand they didn’t blow me away.  Unfortunately, they didn’t fit quite right, the fabric hung in a strange way and the length was unflattering.  When you attach an exclusive brand name to a collection expectation becomes that much higher and often, in reality, what you get is a knocked down version.

Outfit details: Dress – Target x Victoria Beckham | Blazer – Stella McCartney (find HERE) | Shoes – Chanel (similar HEREHERE) | Bag – Chanel (similar HERE & HERE)

On the flipside, I’ve also bought from collaborations which have been a huge success and overwhelmed my expectations.  Most notably, my leather jacket from the HM x Balmain collection still to this day is one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe.  I still love the dresses I got from the Banana Republic x Roland Mouret line.  Topshop has also done some winning collabs with the likes of Markus Lupfer, Mary Katrantzou and Richard Nicoll.

All that being said, I thought I’d share a few of the tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way to finding yourself a winner rather than a dud:

1) Don’t always go for the hero piece

More often than not in the lead up to a collaboration being launched, the press will select a few pieces which will litter the magazines and blogs.  I generally tend to steer away from these, purely because they become an “it” item which means they won’t have fashion longevity.  Yes, it might be the hottest thing when the collection launches but in a year’s time everyone will know you’re wearing last years collaboration.  If you choose the less publicised pieces, you’re more likely to get longevity and plenty of wear out of them.

2) Stay true to your style

Again, don’t get caught up in the hype and buy a piece just because everyone else wants it.  If it’s not your style, you’re not going to wear it.  Pure and simple!

3) Do your research

Study the collection’s lookbook so you know which pieces you want.  This will stop you shopping in a frenzy and grabbing everything and anything.  It’s so easy to let anticipation and adrenaline get the better of you so stay focused on what you love and you’re more likely to get value for money out of it.

4) Be prepared for disappointment

Invitably there will be disappointment somewhere along the line when it comes to shopping high street x luxury brand collaborations.  Firstly, you can never know what the quality is going to be like until you have it in hand.  In some cases, such as the Balmain x H&M collab the quality was breathtakingly good but other collections have been less impressive.

Secondly, you’re not always going to be able to get the pieces you want.  When something is in such high demand it’s always going to be a challenge to bag everything you’re after.

Thirdly, be prepared that the jumper you tried on in the Kenzo boutique is not going to look the same as the H&M version.  It will be cut differently, stitched differently and in totally different fabrics.  More often than not, standards are set high when it comes to these collaborations so don’t be surprised when things don’t live up to expectation, just brush it off your shoulder.

5) Don’t be a reseller

I say this with great passion, DO NOT become one of those knobs who resells the collection for 5 times the retail price.  It ruins it for everyone else.  If you’re in it to make a fast buck and take advantage of people’s dream of owning a piece of [insert brand name here] then all I can say is shame on you.

Outfit Details: Romper – Target x Victoria Beckham | Shirt – Topshop (find HERE) | Belt – Hermes (find HERE) | Bag – 3.1 Phillip Lim (similar HERE & HERE)

Don’t forget you can also keep up with me on Instagram @thatnewdress, Twitter @thatnewdress, Bloglovin That New Dress, Snapchat thatnewdress and Depop @dominiquew.

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36 Responses to “My Thoughts on High Street and Designer Collaborations”

  1. Ankita Bardhan

    Sad that the pieces didn’t live up to your expectations. And I couldn’t agree more with you here, more often than not these collaborations turn out to be disappointing as the quality is nowhere close to the designer pieces. Keeping the disappointments aside, I must say I really loved the way you styled the pink romper, looks so chic and classy 🙂
    xx
    https://simpliannie.wordpress.com/

  2. I find the dress really cute although the fabric maybe is of lower quality considering it’s Victoria Beckham collab. But it’s distributed by Target so it should be affordable. I really find the bunnies in the collar adorable, if it’s sold here I will surely grab it too.

    http://www.busyandfab.com

  3. Great tips I can only remember buying one collaboration item which was from H&M x Marni and it was a silk top. It was great quality. I did buy it for the design rather that because it was a collaboration and got so much wear from it. So you are right when you say to buy the pieces that suit your style and not just because they are IT pieces.

    Gemma x
    http://www.jacquardflower.uk

  4. Oh I really agree with you dear! Sometimes those collaborations are just to make money but the quality is so bad. I still have to say I love how you styled this romper and how you made it more special with this combination of blue an pink.
    Have a great weekend dear <3
    xx, Carmen – http://www.carmitive.com

  5. My dear, just like you I have also made disappointments with such collaborations but have also bought some great finds. A bag which costed 150 EUR from H&M x Versace was a total bad buy, because it lasted one use. On the other hand my bag from H&M x Balmain is of a great quality and I get many compliments for this bag. have also had bad experiences with some Top Shop collaborations. All in all I can say that the quality of such collaborations could be better. Thanks for your honest opinion on the Target x Victoria Beckham collaboration. xoxo

    http://www.naomella.com

  6. ¡¡Que fotos tan maravillosas!! Y el look… 100% spring ¡¡una maravilla!!:) Un besazo enorme bella y ¡¡a darle duro y con energía al fin de semanita!!Ahora si que si ya llega el calor, esto está por empezar. Estamos en contacto. Muá :*

  7. thatnewd

    Awww thank you hunny! It was quite a challenge to make the pieces look as good as possible as the fit of them weren’t all that great, so that means a lot! xx

  8. thatnewd

    I think I’m just too short for the collection and that’s why the fit was off on me but belting it definitely helped. I’m glad to hear it worked for you though hunny! xx

  9. thatnewd

    Most of the time I think H&M do a pretty good job with the quality but sometimes the collections are so overhyped it makes it difficult to wear it season after season! xx

  10. thatnewd

    I think the Balmain x HM collab is the best I’ve ever come across in terms of quality, just such a shame it was so stressful to buy from! xx

  11. I think the rabbit collar there is really pretty, but I agree that sometimes collaborations are no good. The designers stuff is usually expensive for a reason. They use the best quality materials, it’s all hand sewn, they perfect the fits etc so when they collaborate with a lower end brand which doesn’t do all of that, even if their designs are good, the quality wont be on par with their own stuff. So it’s a tricky one. I know Msr. Louboutin said he would never do it as he can’t make amazing shoes like he likes with such a low budget.

    Raindrops of Sapphire

  12. thatnewd

    I think you’ve hit the nail on the head hun. You’re totally right, how are you supposed to emulate a designer label when you can’t use the same craftmanship?! xx

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