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article is from the ny times

Front Row

THERE are two ways to look at the escalating trend of high-price fashion designers teaming up with low-cost retail outlets. One is the noble view that democratizing design will take style to the masses, and the other is the pragmatic view that fashion's elitism is like oil or gas, a limited resource at risk of depletion.

In the wake of fast fashion collections from Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Isaac Mizrahi, and another planned from Viktor & Rolf at H&M in November, it would seem that the world's supply of hot untapped designers has already dwindled to possibly dangerous levels, as evidenced by new budget collections from designers whose name recognition is akin to "Huh?"

At Target the latest guest is the French designer Tara Jarmon; Wal-Mart has a line coming from the South African designer Mark Eisen; and Topshop is banking on prints from Celia Birtwell (a forgotten star whose textiles once bordered on legendary and the wife of the late Ossie Clark, don't you know).

This week Nine West, the shoe division of Jones Apparel Group, stepped into the fray with limited offerings from Vivienne Westwood, who is arguably famous, and Thakoon Panichgul and Sophia Kokosalaki, whose talents exceed their fame. Beginning Sept. 1, their designs will be sold at Nine West and Macy's, from about $180 to $500, which is not exactly inexpensive, either.

"This was an opportunity to get my name out there across the nation, which is really helpful at this point for a young designer," said Mr. Panichgul, who worked as an assistant at Harper's Bazaar until founding his Thakoon line four seasons back. For Nine West he designed handbags and shoes that take their cues from past inspirations, and if you have to ask, that would be a mix of baroque and futuristic. One bag is tough-looking clear plastic lined with black lace and trimmed in patent leather.

Ms. Kokosalaki's matte black pumps fronted with a lattice cage bespeak fashion fetishes previously unknown to the racks of Nine West, where shoes bear names like "Schooldays" and "Poof."

Mr. Panichgul said he is not worried that people who don't read Vogue and Harper's Bazaar will learn of his existence only in a down-market shoe store.

"Maybe five years ago it would have been a deterrent," he said. "But today it's different in terms of looking at lower-end products. Everything you pick up today is design-driven, so there's less of a stigma for designers to do them."

A design by Sophia Kokosalaki for Nine West.