Lowe’s Offers New York Fashion Week Branded Home Collections

New York Fashion Week during COVID-19 put forward a very different group of shows & sponsors this year, but perhaps the most innovative was home goods store Lowe’s sponsoring designers. Lowe’s sponsored runway shows from Jason Wu, Rebecca Minkoff and Christian Siriano.   Economic downturns make for strange partnerships, but, as we all work from home and watch the shows online from home the theme of “fashion comes home” makes sense.   Spending on fashion has declined at the same time that spending on home (where we are all spending more time than ever) has increased.

Lowe’s livestreamed the designer’s fashion shows on Twitter and the sets for each show featured items such as lighting to patio furniture, flooring and building materials.   Bravo to Lowes for sponsoring the designers and helping the shows to go on.

Lowe’s used New York Fashion Week as a platform for home styles with sophisticated décor “edit” from select designers.

Lowes & the designers in gave fashion greater purpose by participating in a community project with the goal to make high-style design accessible to people and communities impacted by the pandemic.  The three collections from each designer are now available for sale on Lowe’s website.   Each designer curated items from Lowe’s around a specific theme mirrored in their runway shows.  The three home curated collections are:

• Rebecca Minkoff: Ode to New York 
• Christian Sirianos: Laidback Elegance
• Jason Wu: Paradise in the City

Each collection features throws, pillows, mirrors, furniture and accent pieces.   This is interior design on-demand at your local hardware/home goods store.  Prices for the pieces range from  $29.99 for silk plants to over $1,000 for high-end sofas.

The Cream Sofa in the Christian Siriano collection at Lowe’s.

The sleek “Armen Living Regis Cream Sofa with Pine Frame and Gunmetal Legs” in the Christian Siriano curated collection retails for $ 1,341.

Although some of the pieces in the curated collections are really attractive, some are not that special.  I wonder if the pieces in the designer curated collections will bring shoppers in the Lowe’s.  The cynic in me wonders if the average Lowe’s customers knows who these fashion designers are if they will be willing to pay for items curated by them.  My expectation is that a lot of the pieces will be discounted prior to Black Friday shopping, which honestly will start any minute now.:)

If your visit your local Lowe’s store or website, let me know what you think of the collections.

From a fashion week perspective, I think we will see more brands that outside of the fashion or beauty space, coming in as sponsors for the designer collections and doing retail tie-ins.  According to fashion entrepreneur Yuli Ziv, we can expect to see more retailers jumping into New York Fashion Week with branded collections.  ”  Bet on the BIG 3–Amazon, Walmart & Target – jumping on the bandwagon next season, ” notes Ms. Ziv.  “With the crumbling brick-and-mortar fashion retail and shrinking magazines, they are the only ones to save NYFW.  Watch this space.”