• Posted by: Hope Robertson
• In: Fashion and Retail

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Living in a Fashion Democracy
By: Hope Robertson

As long as fashion has been a hot commodity, women across the globe have gone to great lengths to look fashionable – some even sacrificing whole paychecks for one designer item.

Good news for those who want runway style at an affordable price: In recent years mega-corporations such as Target and Walmart have begun to sell designer labels without the designer price.

With the debut of Isaac Mizrahi's chic and creative clothing line at Target in 2005, sales for the company grew that year by over 12%. After more success with designers Liz Lange and Mossimo, Target debuted the much-anticipated line from Proenza Schouler in early 2007. Sales are expected to sky rocket.

Walmart also experienced increased sales in 2005 by more than 11% with the addition of clothing lines from private-label Metro 7. Additionally, designs by Exsto and George have been rolling off the racks.

The latest attractively-priced retailer to add top designers to its stores is Payless ShoeSource. With the continuing success of designer Laura Peretzky's Abaete line, Payless is set to start selling shoes in 2007 by Lela Rose. Both Rose's and Peretzky's latest lines debut this week at New York Fashion Week, and buzz about both are already in the air.

According to an interview with Fashion Television, Payless chief executive officer Matt Rubel attributes high sales to the yearning of America 's fashion-forward women for inexpensive but great designs. "…we are celebrating each designer's unique design vocabularies and bringing to women across America what they truly desire - runway style at an accessible price."

Equally as exciting as the great prices are the designer's creations. No longer are women stuck in communist-uniformity cast-offs from last season's runways, now they can live free in a fashion democracy – wearing quality clothing created for individual style.