Target is having a fashion identity crisis, but there are signs of hope

The fitting-room experience was slightly better. The $60 oversized blazer did what it said on the tin – the shoulders fit nicely, and it had the European-style double vent at the back, as a teeny nod to luxury. But the fabric let it down.

Still, I pictured myself being a mum needing a suit for a job interview after maternity leave. My body is still changing, and I don’t have a lot of cash to burn after being out of the workforce for an extended period. Could you make the $110 suit look decent? Potentially, especially in a lighter colour, which generally conceals quality compromises better than black.

There was a toffee-coloured jersey dress ($60) that was cut nicely and could have made a reliable office wear staple. If someone had told me it was from Swedish chain COS (owned by the H&M group) or Cue, I’d have believed them.

Having heard Target’s denim punched above its weight, I had to try its ‘90s-style wide-leg jeans. They didn’t make me feel like Cindy Crawford but, to my astonishment, they felt great, fit perfectly and were only $40. I’d owned jeans that cost 10 times more that didn’t fit this well.

But not everything I tried lived up to the premium feel of the campaign, which was shot at Dovecote, a luxury hotel on the NSW South Coast where rooms start from $1150 a night. A printed shirt and pants set ($75) promised Australian luxury resort label Matteau, but felt thin and scratchy on the body. And the accessories – an area I was told Target had invested in heavily – still had a long way to go. Also, why do discount stores think everyone wants to wear cheap copies of Bottega Veneta’s braided mules and Hermes’ Oran slides?

Still, as I perused the shoe department, one woman commented, to no one in particular, as she examined the sky-blue Bottega copies: “Not bad for Target.”

As Target pushes the message that it’s a destination for fashion, while at the same time taking in more of the popular Anko range (Kmart’s home brand), it’s fair to argue it’s suffering an identity crisis. The question will be whether it keeps pushing its fashion to new heights, or settles at “not bad”.

The fitting-room experience was slightly better. The $60 oversized blazer did what it said on the tin – the shoulders fit nicely, and it had the European-style double vent at the back, as a teeny nod to luxury. But the fabric let it down.

Still, I pictured myself being a mum needing a suit for a job interview after maternity leave. My body is still changing, and I don’t have a lot of cash to burn after being out of the workforce for an extended period. Could you make the $110 suit look decent? Potentially, especially in a lighter colour, which generally conceals quality compromises better than black.

There was a toffee-coloured jersey dress ($60) that was cut nicely and could have made a reliable office wear staple. If someone had told me it was from Swedish chain COS (owned by the H&M group) or Cue, I’d have believed them.

Having heard Target’s denim punched above its weight, I had to try its ‘90s-style wide-leg jeans. They didn’t make me feel like Cindy Crawford but, to my astonishment, they felt great, fit perfectly and were only $40. I’d owned jeans that cost 10 times more that didn’t fit this well.

But not everything I tried lived up to the premium feel of the campaign, which was shot at Dovecote, a luxury hotel on the NSW South Coast where rooms start from $1150 a night. A printed shirt and pants set ($75) promised Australian luxury resort label Matteau, but felt thin and scratchy on the body. And the accessories – an area I was told Target had invested in heavily – still had a long way to go. Also, why do discount stores think everyone wants to wear cheap copies of Bottega Veneta’s braided mules and Hermes’ Oran slides?

Still, as I perused the shoe department, one woman commented, to no one in particular, as she examined the sky-blue Bottega copies: “Not bad for Target.”

As Target pushes the message that it’s a destination for fashion, while at the same time taking in more of the popular Anko range (Kmart’s home brand), it’s fair to argue it’s suffering an identity crisis. The question will be whether it keeps pushing its fashion to new heights, or settles at “not bad”.