Tracy Feith for Target

[kimair]

Tracy Feith will bring his sun and surf aesthetic and signature charming vintage-y styles to Target as the retailer’s 15th guest designer for Go International.

The broad collection, which features about 60 styles and 15 original prints, will bow May 17 and be available through June 27 in most Target stores nationwide and online at www.target.com/go.

“I was pleased when I was approached to do [the collection],” Feith said, adding he never harbored a particular desire to create a lower-priced collection. “The distribution is exciting, to have so many people exposed to the line. Certainly some people will know my name and others won’t. I see it as a limited edition, a very special opportunity for everybody, for people who can afford the clothes and those who can’t, especially with the way the economy is now.”

Feith described the collection as eclectic, with shorts, swimsuits, tops, jackets, pants and dresses ranging from $14.99 to $44.99. “There are easy flowing pieces and more fitted numbers,” he said. “There are items for the beach and the office. The clothes will be equally at home in the city as the country.” Feith cited a cotton maxi floral printed dress as one of his favorites.

The designer’s inspiration board for Go features shades called lollypop red, Persian turquoise, seafoam green, neon orange and pink, and Saturn lime. Photos of several generations of beachgoers, bathing beauties of the Fifties and Hawaiian-style painted flowers are part of the collage.

A cropped leather motorcycle jacket lined in a signature Tracy Feith print — at $139.99, it’s the highest-priced item in the line — was inspired by one the designer made for his eight-year-old son. “We made a little boy’s leather jacket like his,” Feith said. “It’s perfect. It’s so soft and washed. I was amazed at how good it turned out when we got the samples back.”

The process of designing for Target was “very different from the way I design,” Feith said. “I’m a hands-on designer. I don’t work with a lot of technical designers. This was a different way of working, but there were things I was able to achieve that I could not have been able to achieve on my own, in terms of quantities and manufacturing.”

Feith, a Texas native and avid surfer, operates four freestanding stores in the U.S. At Target, he follows in the immediate footsteps of Thakoon Panichgul, whose designs will be available through the end of January. Other recent Go designers include Jonathan Saunders, Richard Chai and Rogan Gregory.

wwd / january 7, 2009



inspiration board

[lucy92]

what an odd choice! he's always been low on my radar.

he's not really my style...i guess i lump him in with the "hamptons" set...ive always thought of him more of a retailer than a designer. he doesnt "do" fashion week. there could be some interesting prints. ill give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Scott]

^i was just about to say...i haven't heard about tracy feith since the mid-90's! i didn't even know he was still at it,to be honest. his style was okay then i suppose,but i tastes have evolved so drastically since then(i mean i was only 14 & 15)i don't it could ever peek my interest.

[softgrey]

i think it's great for a summer collection..
his colours and his prints are always so happy and upbeat...
he's had a store in nolita for over 10 yrs now i think...
i pass by it regularly and it's a really cheerful space...

maybe a bit to bright and cheery for my personal style...but i think there wiill be a lot that people will love...

looking forward with interest...

thanks for the post!..

[lucy92]

^the store in nolita is closed. i wonder if he has cash flow issues.

[ChrissyM]

oooh... the plot thickens..
thanks for the info lucy..

and thanks for the thread kimair!

i feel like i don't know enough about Tracy Feith (i thought he was a woman! ) to have a good idea about what to expect for this collection...

could be fun for summer so i guess i'll wait and see what my mood is like 5 months from now...
i've noticed a tendency to start wearing darker colors lately but maybe i just have some winter blues...

we shall see...

when pictures of this come out we'll all see what we think..
i'm actually really curious to see the prints...

[chaneladdict]

I always like the few pieces that show up at Anthro by him, so I am excited to see this

[lucy92]

Bust Magazine

[lucy92]

one more from bust...color on this one is OK.
feith has a very genial personality so i can see why target wanted to work with him...

[Tiffany7]

Cute... so this is the next collection after Saunders which is over now & their Private line Go Collection or is there something in between?

[ChrissyM]

very youthful...
i don't see anything in here for me though...

[omgitschristine]

More pictures were just posted on nitrolicious.com. I am a fan of it so far! I think this will be one of the best collections since Luella.

[lucy92]

much cuter. nitrolicious.com

[ChrissyM]

that's better!

i like the short white dress...
and the first look is interesting as well..
is that jacket leather?

thanks lucy

[Tiffany7]

Does anyone have the collection yet in their Target store? I know sometimes it comes in earlier. Our store used to put it out on the Friday before but not so much now.