Rafe for Target

[lucy92]

this was on fashionweekdaily a few weeks ago. cant believe no one posted it. i'm excited.



Rafe Totengco tapped by Target

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

(NEW YORK) From magazine pages to store shelves, Target has set its bull’s eye on a new mark: Rafe Totengco. Rafe (short for Ramon Felix), whose line of accessories debuted under the Rafe New York label at Bergdorf Goodman in 1995, has been tapped by the cheap chic retailer to design a capsule collection of handbags and small accessories. The products are expected to make their debut at Target stores in October, around the same time Behnaz Sarafpour’s fashion pieces will also roll out. Over the course of his decade-long career, Totengco has garnered an Accessories Council Award for Best Accessories Designer, won the CFDA’s Perry Ellis Award for Accessory Design in 1999, and was honored with a Rising Star Award in 2000 by the Fashion Group International.
JIM SHI

 

[jun3machina]

does anyone have pics of any past designs they have done? im not familiar with the name....i wonder if this will be tied in to the go international collection....

 

[Diorling]

I dont think Rafe is THAT good of a designer, I went to his sample sale (bags for super dirt cheap) and none of those bags were worth the $100 that they wanted, so fug.

 

[Luna]

Rafe is truly one of those hit or miss kind of brands...

I'm curious to see what they've come up with though

 

[softgrey]

does anyone have pics of any past designs they have done? im not familiar with the name....i wonder if this will be tied in to the go international collection....

maybe it will be go NATIONAL next...
because the next round of designers are all american...

rafe has a website...try rafe.com on google...
it's kind of like kate spade in a way these days...
sort of pretty and girly...very colourful...
sort of 'country club'...you know?...

it used to have a bit more of an edge...
i have a bag and some boots..
both of which i never wear anymore...
but which i know i will pull out again at some point becuase they are strong pieces...


***his red bag was featured on the cover of the LUCKY style book...
i have a version of that bag...-which i got BEFORE that d*mn book......

 

[Luna]

Heh.. everyone always asks who the bag is by on that Lucky book...

It doesnt look Rafe-ish.. at least when you compare it to the current/recently passed seasons

 

[lucy92]

im looking forward to leather wallets.
i think it will be halfway decent.

 

[cktam888]

I"m curious to see what the bags will look like too. Target has been getting alot of designers to design their stuff lately.

 

[baklanyc]

***his red bag was featured on the cover of the LUCKY style book...
i have a version of that bag...-which i got BEFORE that d*mn book......

You have that bag? It's so un-you, I think.

I've seen the Rafe For Target bags in person and they're really cute, especially for the price (nothing more than $50). Granted, I'm not really a woman's handbag user, but I frankly can't believe that they only cost that little. I'm not sure when they're releasing the images, though.

Working in this industry, it becomes really interesting to see how people skew their brands. In the beginning, people design how they like, but stores and customer purchases eventually mold collections by how they buy, sometimes in ways that they don't foresee. A lot of the most interesting bags and shoes never make it to production or barely get airplay, and what you end up with at the store level are things that are much more saleable to the public at large, yet not necessarily edgy enough for the people who discovered the brand in their infancy. I know I've loved editorial pieces I've seen in magazines that never made it to production, leaving me hunting down the samples at sample sales. It can be such a crap shoot.

 

[lucy92]

thats great that you saw the bags.

are they real leather?

 

[baklanyc]

thats great that you saw the bags.

are they real leather?

Not at that price. They were PVC. But the amount of detail was insane. I know that patent leather is shaping up to be a big trend this season, and PVC looks pretty much the same - just not as durable in the long run (although nothing a quick workover with a blow dryer can't help!). It will be interesting to see how the public reacts to it. I'm getting one for my sister.

 

[lucy92]

PVC actually sounds good.

i know that the isaak line for target uses pig "leather" instead of cow leather. i'm not sure whether i like that idea.

 

[Trista]

Yay! No leather!

That means I can buy it!

 

[lucy92]

someone posted this in the ioffer thread.
original image is from target.com

 

[LoveMyBoots]

so it is patent leather

 

[fashionista-ta]

Working in this industry, it becomes really interesting to see how people skew their brands. In the beginning, people design how they like, but stores and customer purchases eventually mold collections by how they buy, sometimes in ways that they don't foresee. A lot of the most interesting bags and shoes never make it to production or barely get airplay, and what you end up with at the store level are things that are much more saleable to the public at large, yet not necessarily edgy enough for the people who discovered the brand in their infancy. I know I've loved editorial pieces I've seen in magazines that never made it to production, leaving me hunting down the samples at sample sales. It can be such a crap shoot.

I hear that! Sometimes it seems the majority of what I wanted to buy never made it to production. Happened just today (again) with shoes ... I just don't get it, this is the good stuff they're not making

 

[buggy]

^^ Those look like some Prague bags I've eyeballed on overstock.com

 

[legaldiva]

That clutch is cute. I'd buy it.

I don't like Rafe stuff in general though. I have a pair of sandals that are super cute, but it's too "Kate Spade" for my taste, although once I saw the most gorgeous python sling like bag he did.

 

[baklanyc]

I hear that! Sometimes it seems the majority of what I wanted to buy never made it to production. Happened just today (again) with shoes ... I just don't get it, this is the good stuff they're not making

I'm going through the same thing now - so much stuff I wish made it past the editorials! Agh. Ah well, better for my wallet...

 

[lucy92]

a lot of the bags and clutches are on target.com now...

what does everyone think?

i like the clutches.

and at 20$ less 10% codes target always has and free shipping its a steal.