Prabal Gurung Was a Whopping Success for Target

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Prabal Gurung's collection for Target sold out almost completely in one day, Business Insider is reporting, indicating that the era of the collab may not be over after all.

After disappointing returns on the giant holiday collaboration, which the retailer launched in partnership with the CFDA and Neiman Marcus, there was talk within the industry that the wildly successful high-low collaboration equation had been played out. "It's become very formulaic at this point," Mickey Boardman, editorial director of Paper magazine, told the New York Post. "Everyone does them, and so they don't really seem as special." A sell-out collection from Gurung could be a shot in the arm the concept needs.

Business Insider speculates that it worked for two reasons. First, Gurung stayed true to his aesthetic, offering cheerful, youthful versions of the floral prints and patterns women have come to know and love in his high-end collection.

And second, Target stayed true to their super-affordable pricing scheme. Aside from a few higher-end novelty items, like the blue moto jacket that went for $200, nearly everything was under $50, with printed tees for $20, shoes for $30 and, dresses in the $30 to $40 range. (Reasons three and four? Kate Middleton and Michelle Obama.)

Still, this collaboration didn't approach the the frenzy of Missoni's 2011 collection, which crashed Target's website and in retrospect seems to be the peak of the high-low collab era. Though many pieces of the Gurung collection did sell out quickly, there are still a handful of dresses available online in larger sizes, and a quick spot check reveals that many of the shoes are still up for grabs in size 8.5, one of the most common women's shoe sizes.

Also, while there are more than 2500 active listings on eBay under the search term "Prabal Gurung Target," the items with the most bids are going for under $50—not the exorbitant mark-up eBay sellers are sometimes able to unload highly coveted or collectible goods for.

So Gurung's collection certainly seems to qualify as a whopping success for Target from a sales perspective, has it brought back Missoni-level excitement to the high-low collaboration forumla? We're curious: Did you shop the collection? Do you think the high-low is back? Who would you like to see do a capsule next? Speak your minds in the comments.
· Prabal Gurung's Line Is The Smash Hit That Target Needed
· The Target-Neiman's Collab Launch Was Kind of a Bust [Racked]
· All Prabal Gurung for Target coverage [Racked]