A few years ago, the idea of a designer and high street collaboration would have been laughable. No-one would have thought it possible - or indeed desirable - for designers to produce cheaper capsule collections, thereby making their labels available to a wider audience. But these days you can't move for such collaborations. They have, of course, been of varying success, but on the whole it's been a great initiative, allowing us mere mortals a taste of the big name designers at a fraction of the price. Some collections, such as Christopher Kane for Topshop and Lanvin for H&M, even achieved cult status and sold out within minutes.
Designers at Debenhams, however, has never exactly had the same cool factor. Tacky Julien Macdonald dresses and fusty Betty Jackson designs were never in the same league as Topshop's cutting edge collaborations, and I can't say I've ever been tempted by any of the department store's featured designers. But it seems that times might be a-changing. Today I came across a new concept from Debenhams called Edition, which, in the words of the store's website, "will bring contemporary designers to the high street, showcasing between two and four designers at any one time. Edition aims to establish a hot bed to continually introduce emerging creative talent, with the goal to establish the next generation of Designers at Debenhams" (read the whole story here). So far, so nothing new. But scroll down the page and you'll notice that the three designers currently featured are Preen, Jonathan Saunders and Jonathan Kelsey. Not exactly fusty. In fact, these are some of the hottest tickets of LFW. And what's more, the collection they've produced looks pretty darned good. Cute printed minidresses, smart directional coats and wearable tees sit alongside edgy shoes and practical handbags. And that's not even the best part. Unlike David Koma's collection for Topshop, these prices are genuinely not going to make your eyes water. With tops from as little as £28, dresses hovering around £60, coats at £80 and accessories around £50, these are actually high street prices. I've picked my favourite four pieces below (so so getting that Preen mac), but you can see all of Vogue.co.uk's top picks here. The Edition collection will be available in stores and online on 14th February, so why not treat yourself for Valentine's?
Designers at Debenhams, however, has never exactly had the same cool factor. Tacky Julien Macdonald dresses and fusty Betty Jackson designs were never in the same league as Topshop's cutting edge collaborations, and I can't say I've ever been tempted by any of the department store's featured designers. But it seems that times might be a-changing. Today I came across a new concept from Debenhams called Edition, which, in the words of the store's website, "will bring contemporary designers to the high street, showcasing between two and four designers at any one time. Edition aims to establish a hot bed to continually introduce emerging creative talent, with the goal to establish the next generation of Designers at Debenhams" (read the whole story here). So far, so nothing new. But scroll down the page and you'll notice that the three designers currently featured are Preen, Jonathan Saunders and Jonathan Kelsey. Not exactly fusty. In fact, these are some of the hottest tickets of LFW. And what's more, the collection they've produced looks pretty darned good. Cute printed minidresses, smart directional coats and wearable tees sit alongside edgy shoes and practical handbags. And that's not even the best part. Unlike David Koma's collection for Topshop, these prices are genuinely not going to make your eyes water. With tops from as little as £28, dresses hovering around £60, coats at £80 and accessories around £50, these are actually high street prices. I've picked my favourite four pieces below (so so getting that Preen mac), but you can see all of Vogue.co.uk's top picks here. The Edition collection will be available in stores and online on 14th February, so why not treat yourself for Valentine's?
Jonathan Saunders panelled dress, £60; Jonathan Kelsey high knot strap sandal, £55; Preen zip detail mac, £80; Jonathan Saunders colour block t-shirt, £28
Pictures: Vogue.co.uk
Pictures: Vogue.co.uk
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