“Never dress for other people,‘ says Target’s new ’Go’ designer, Patrick Robinson. Developing a sense of personal style is central to his design philosophy--he began designing custom surfwear as a teenager for his SoCal pals. Patrick continued to refine these ideals at Parsons School of Design in NYC and now joins other alums (Proenza Schouler, Behnaz Sarafpour) as Target’s latest ‘GO International’ designer. (Luella Bartley, Paul and Joe, Tara Jarmon round out the list of past ‘GO‘ designers.)

Patrick’s new collection features a breezy, sun-drenched aesthetic accented by earthy, Mediterranean prints. These were most likely inspired by personal experience on Europe’s top beaches during his stints as Design Director for Giorgio Armani and later, Paco Rabanne. (Other high-profile fashion positions include Anne Klein and Perry Ellis.)

His collections for these iconic fashion houses, as well as for his own label, feature a signature focus on details and tailoring. The Target collection reflects this, including jackets and tops with D&G-esque hook-eye corset closures. He also uses a neutral palette with rich tones not usually associated with summer (coconut, tawny port, granite) that will extend the life of the pieces well into the fall.  

I especially liked the medallion print pieces (dresses, skirt, tote)--they have a sophisticated island-girl feel that's more adult and will appeal to a slightly older demographic than previous GO collections.  The sizing is also more generous than previous collections, especially Proenza Schouler.  Some of the cotton knit dresses have cute detailing, but really not much to differentiate them from Target's Mossimo brand.  Georgette silk pieces (printed and plain) were likewise uninspiring and definitely not the quality seen in the same fabrics used for PS & Behnaz Sarafpour.  I guess Target needs to recoup margins on these collections somehow, but the lack of high quality fabrics and 'additives' (such as cashmere for both PS & BS) is sorely missed.   Likewise beware of the denim and 'natural' finish pieces--I didn't know whether to wear or bag my groceries with them. 

Early fashion industry reviewers have described this as the most exciting and wearable GO collection.  I disagree--wearable 'yes', but definitely not as exciting, fun and high fabric quality as previous collections.  That said, there are some good individual pieces (especially the dresses), so snap them up while you can.