Phillip Lim Talks His Target Collection

Phillip Lim fans are freaking out over his upcoming collection for Target (opens in new tab) for a couple of reasons. The first, of course, being the incredible price points: Everything in the line comes in at under $300, and most are priced well below that. Second, the designer breathed new life into some of his most popular pieces and patterns from collections past — the comic book motif from Pre-Fall 2012 and the color-blocked pastels from Spring 2012, for example — and brought versions of them back for his Target collaboration.

"The basic foundation is that they want you," Lim told us about the revived items in his Target line. "Throughout the timeline of the company history there have been moments where there's a time stamp on that moment, and I went through the archives and tried to bring out the timestamps that are still relevant and that I still desire. Then I laced that in with new icons of what I feel belong in a modern wardrobe for a man or woman on the go. It had to be a dance of history and present and moving it forward."

Many of the pieces in Lim's collection for Target, not unlike in his eponymous runway shows each season, have sell-out potential. Which items does the designer think will fly off the shelves? "The trench coat is double face — Target has never let anyone use double-face cotton before. The men's trainers — they're so street and sharp, and that midnight tuxedo. It's been so interesting to push design to the masses."

With a full range of apparel for men and women and seriously covetable accessories (especially the bags!), the September 15 launch is something to look forward to, even for Phillip Lim himself. "I designed this collection for the same customer as my main line, " he told us. "It had to be parallel and authentic — the only differences are the textiles and price points. It's a true distillation of the core."