by Vicki Salemi

Attention, shoppers! You may know the store just by its logo, without even seeing its name. With its fire engine red bulls-eye logo, brightly organized shopping space, and spot-on marketing, Target is quickly becoming the mecca of affordable fashion and household items. And, for top designers, including Issac Mizrahi, Liz Lange, Cynthia Rowley, and a host of others, it's a smart business move to market their wares there.

If you're considering breaking into the fashion design field, there is a lesson to be learned here: Fashion consciousness has gone mainstream, so be prepared to find a way to stand out.

The Baked Potato of Fashion?
Synonymous with style and success to many, Isaac Mizrahi, fashion designer and host of Isaac, the Style Network’s popular talk show that gives make-over transformations, celebrity dish, and style tips, also greatly enjoys the work he does for Target. 

"The way I always explain it is this: If you had to live in a world of only foie gras and truffles, you would get very bored," he says. "There is really great pizza that you need occasionally. Even with caviar, you need a baked potato."

It’s not uncommon for one of Mizrahi’s models to wear a beautiful leather jacket from his couture collection paired with a little cotton dress from Target. "I love [the luxurious silks used in couture collections], but I also love these little cotton suits that I make for Target just as much," he explains.  

While you may have a lot of catching up to do to find yourself on the same level as Isaac Mizrahi, it’s important to create innovative designs with cutting-edge cool to get noticed. "Target chooses innovative artists to create unique merchandise at an acceptable price point," explains Laura Rowley, author of On Target: How the World’s Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull’s-Eye.

Target's game plan for setting itself apart, she explains, is seeking ideas outside the mainstream and using licensing agreements to make its own trends. For the designers, reaping the massive market reach and achieving brand recognition thanks to such partnerships, is like hitting the business' iconic bull's-eye.

In other words, says Joanne Arbuckle, acting dean of the School of Art and Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, in addition to design work, it's important to cultivate your "it" factor--strong communication skills--in order to get others to notice you.  

A "Swell" Story
Beyond wardrobes, shoppers seek style in their home furnishings and accents, prompting Target to answer the demand for sleek housewares. Enter Swell, the whimsical, affordable housewares collection by clothing designer Cynthia Rowley and Ilene Rosenzweig, deputy style editor for the New York Times Sunday Style section. Containing a variety of imaginative home goods such as a purple pom-pom lamp, Swell is a spin-off of their best-selling book, Swell: A Girl’s Guide to the Good Life, which dishes advice ranging from transforming junk mail into party invitations to gracefully sitting down in a micro-mini skirt.

"I agreed to partner with Target several years ago when designer/mass market collaborations were not yet commonplace because it was the most innovative mass retailer with an undying commitment to great design," explains Rowley.

Target's philanthropic endeavors were also a selling point. Rowley, an alumna of the Art Institute of Chicago and cousin of author Laura Rowley, adds, "Target is an amazingly impressive corporate citizen, giving away $2 million dollars each week to charitable causes focusing on education and the arts."  

Best in Class
Liz Lange, founder of Liz Lange Maternity, a line of stylish, well-made maternity clothes, was also impressed with the charity-loving chain that now boasts more than 1,500 stores in 47 states nationwide. “I saw what Target was doing at the time and I respected that,” she says. “It’s been extremely uplifting for my brand image.”

After signing an exclusive deal with Nike in 2001 to create active wear for pregnant women, Lange recognized the significance of Target’s wide customer reach–she viewed as like-Nike potential–and signed on the following year. Maternity by Liz Lange is the only maternity wear sold at Target.

While the brand is now a household name, that wasn’t always the case. Lange’s fashions started out in 1997 as an exclusive movement of stylish cosmopolitan women staying fashionable during their pregnancies. Through Target’s widespread advertising and marketing efforts that included nationwide circulars, Lange was able to her customer base. No longer an underground line popular with expecting Manhattan socialites, the alliance with Target created another level by pushing the name to mainstream America. “They’re the best in class,” notes Lange.

Lange's journey to become a household name was the result of pursuing the field as an internal passion instead of for the external reward of earning money, she says. However, Lange says aspiring designers who want to reach Target levels should also ask themselves, “How can I grow my business?” And, as fashion designer Rowley advises, "Aspiring designers should work really hard and do great work; [maybe one day] Target will find them."

Classroom Chic
While working hard is important to aspiring fashion junkies, so is the common thread of classroom chic, say most in the industry who've hit it big. Like Rowley who was schooled at the Art Institute of Chicago; Mizrahi, an alumnus of Parsons School of Design; and Lange, a graduate of comparative literature at Brown University, they all possess talent, an incredible work ethic, and above all–an education.

“I know that my Brown education helped me solve problems creatively and have a general head for business," Rowley explains. “Education is important no matter what you decide to pursue in life.

Vicki Salemi (www.vickisalemi.com), a frequent contributor to ClassesUSA.com, Online Degrees Magazine, and The CollegeBound Network, writes regularly about education and career issues. She is the author of The ABC’s of College Life.