Simply Vera : Vera Wang for Kohl's

[ilaughead]

Thanks for the article! It really gives some insight as to how much different Kohl's is for Vera.

[lucy92]

thanks for the great story... it was exciting reading about some of those price points. i had no idea that vera needed a cash infusion for her business. i think its a bit premature for macys to dump her lingerie line on the basis of her kohl's partnership.
i wonder if the 10-20% off coupons that come in the mail for kohls will not apply to vera's line. hopefully they will.

[lucy92]

photo nytimes.com

[ilaughead]

^The models look really awful in that picture, but I'm amazed by the clothes themselves! I'd have never thought that they could look so wonderful!

[kissmesweet]

From the photos posted on the previous page, the stuff looks quite beautiful actually! I love the hats and the shoes especially. I hope they sell the Mary-Janes too.

[lucy92]

more photos from the nytimes.com piece including the gold skirt im craving...check out the shoes...

[Angyl]

I think it looks pretty good for Kohl's. I agree that there's nothing wrong with some designers going mainstream, so much of fashion is far too unaffordable for the normal person. I don't see why someone a mom in the Midwest doesn't deserve to look as good as a model on the coast. As long as it remains true to designer and quality, that's fine by me.

[seanutbutter]

These clothes almost look too good to be true. I was in a Kohl's the other day and was only mildly impressed; their clothing department is decent but not spectacular. Hopefully my local Kohl's will carry most of the pieces posted, and for a nice price as well.

[lucy92]

kohls stocks went way up yesterday...the vera wang stuff is apparently going to come out in september, which i think is a little bit late...but im looking forward to it...

[Just_Liv]

psh, I'm going to sound like a bitch here- but I think a lot of people are underestimating the general public by stating Kohl's customers will not understand the pieces. Kohl's customers are not close minded, poor people who do not care about fashion. They are people that have trouble with money, or like to buy cheapers basics [which, is probably smarter because, as much as I love my Gucci purse, it's unrealistic]. But, they still read all of the magazines, and understand how to put pieces together. I think this line will be amazing for everyone, Ms. Wang did an incredible job designing it. I hope the quality is okay [it fails sometimes in the Target:Go lines]. I'm lusting after the gold skirt.

[lucy92]

i saw a white button shirt with ties in the new issue of glamour with jennifer lopez on the cover. it was 50-something. i was surprised at the cost. seems a bit high.

[manolocraver]

Now everyone can own a Vera

[lucy92]

Kohl's to sell Vera Wang collection at mild prices

The high-fashion designer's Simply Vera line of clothing and accessories will be in stores starting in September

By DORIS HAJEWSKI
dhajewski@journalsentinel.com

Kohl's Corp. will make its first appearance in Times Square in September to mark the rollout of its new Vera Wang line, the department store chain's biggest product launch ever.
The Times Square billboard in New York, a first for the Menomonee Falls-based retailer, will go up Sept. 9 when the Simply Vera line will be in Kohl's stores. Ads for Kohl's Vera Wang designs will be in magazines and on newsstands this week.
The Wang line, an exclusive for Kohl's, offers middle America a chance to buy clothing, lingerie and accessories from a designer who until now dressed only those few who were willing and able to spend thousands on a skirt. Kohl's also will sell a collection of soft home items from Wang, who heretofore has sold her china and crystal only in higher-end stores.
The question now is whether Kohl's shoppers will embrace the designer looks. And for Wang herself, it's whether putting her label into a mainstream mid-price venue like Kohl's will damage her brand, as a number of trade publications have speculated.
Kohl's is not worried, Chief Marketing Officer Julie Gardner said.
"It's all based on research," Gardner said. "We did the research before we signed the agreement (with Wang)."
Seventy percent of Kohl's existing customers were aware of the Vera Wang brand and used adjectives such as "stylish" and "sophisticated" to describe Wang's reputation.
"I think they're trying to attract some new customers with this," said David Cumberland, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. in Chicago. "Some of those are not currently Kohl's shoppers, but they're customers that Kohl's would like to have."
The fall collection

The Simply Vera clothing for fall is feminine and whimsical, done in blacks, grays, taupe, dark brown and tones of purple, with a few accent pieces in gold and white. Wang has designed pleated skirts, bubble skirts, high-waisted dresses and several pieces with ruffles and bows for Kohl's.
"Kohl's growth has come from the more fashion-forward designs they've offered," said Anne Brouwer, a partner at the retail consulting firm of McMillan/Doolittle in Chicago.
Kohl's new Elle brand, developed in conjunction with the fashion magazine by the same name, has been such a success in the 300 stores where it was introduced that the company is rolling it out to 250 more stores this fall.
The Wang deal with Kohl's has been compared by retail industry experts to Target's alliance with Isaac Mizrahi, and to H&M's practice of bringing moderately priced lines from big-name designers such as Stella McCartney to its stores.
The Simply Vera line will be at the top of Kohl's price range.
A double-breasted black car coat, with large buttons and a high, gathered waist, will be priced at $128. A long-sleeve color-block dress, in black and gray, is also $128, shown with opaque black tights at $12, high-heeled Mary Jane shoes for $70, and oversize pull-on knit hat for $25 and long gloves for $35. A white cotton blouse with a bow that ties in front, under the bust, is $54.
But the prices, like those of everything else Kohl's sells, will be subject to frequent discounting.
Marketing plans

Shoppers will get their first looks at the clothes this week in magazines such as Vogue and Glamour. Kohl's has placed eight- and four-page ad inserts in the magazines.
TV ads will start on Sept. 9 and will replace Kohl's back-to-school campaign. One of the spots is a take-off on "The Wizard of Oz." The ad shows a young woman wearing a Simply Vera outfit with a pair of gold high-heeled shoes, walking on a path strewn with yellow leaves, accompanied by a small dog. She doesn't click her heels together, but the tagline says, "There's no place like Kohl's."
A second spot, which will run concurrently, features Wang in an office setting, talking about the clothes and her personal sense of style.
A larger version of the Times Square billboard will go up in two locations in the Milwaukee area, one along the freeway spur outbound from Mitchell International Airport, the other along the southbound lane of I-894 just north of the Hale Interchange.
Also on Sept. 9, Kohl's will launch a Simply Vera Web site accessible through its www.kohls.com site. The Very Vera site will show women how to put together outfits from the Wang collection.

[lucy92]

there are some ads here. the ads are beautiful. for some reason i can't upload them

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=640915

[laika]

Here you go:

{jsonline.com}