The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

ANDROGYNY

In something resembling fashion news, Target will soon carry a David Bowie-inspired line of menswear by British musician-turned-designer Keanan Duffy. (See image at left.) Of course, I could be accused of writing TOO MUCH about Target and its various stabs at summiting the design-for-all market. But hey, it's a local company; I figure you're reasonably interested. In any case, the retailer has been lagging when it comes to menswear, so I'm happy to see them making this effort. And I consider it only bonus that the line happens to be androgynous; I'll shop for my boyfriend (only discount for him) and then just steal the clothes from his closet.

ON THE OTHER HAND

If that all sounds too low brow for your tastes, then you might consider attending Neiman Marcus's Fall 2007 Hip Event this weekend (Friday and Saturday, normal business hours at the downtown Minneapolis store - By the way, I absolutely hate that Neiman is closed on Sundays). The event promises a peek at Phillip Lim's latest line for women, as well as the latest Diesel for men. But I was a little put off by Lim's statement (from the press release) about his clothes being "an ode to the women of today ... she is a citizen of the world, multi-tasking, balancing work and play and most importantly living her life to the fullest." When, oh when will be stop piling more and more demands upon the beleaguered woman of today? Most likely, she is the household head of childcare and cleaning, in addition to her full-time job. She's not as happy as she was thirty years ago. If she's heterosexual (and partnered), then she probably can't get a good night's rest. In other words, she's probably too fucking tired to live life to the fullest. So, lay off, will ya Lim?

Also, I noticed something peculiar about the press release for this Neiman event (and I apologize, as it is not available online). It includes a list of fall 2007 "women's contemporary launches," and they include, almost exclusively, celebrities who now try to pass off as designers: TWENTY8TWELVE by Sienna Miller and her sister, Royal Underground by Nikki Sixx, Justin Timberlake's William Rast collection, and "Elizabeth and James from design consultants Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen" - whatever that means. No wonder the best designers of our time are all clamoring to work for Target and Kohl's. Dumb-shit superstars are now cornering the market on upscale retail, and pretty soon the real designers will be edged out.