Few fashion designers have been so accessible in recent years as Isaac Mizrahi. You've seen him in the movies, on television, with his own shows and appearances on Project Runway. Anyone has been able to afford his clothes, sold in Target and on QVC as well as high-end stores. His joie de vivre is lovable and his critiques of young designers friendly, but spot on.
Designer Isaac Mizrahi (Image credit: via @daylife)
Now, Mizrahi is lending his fashion flair to the new version of the Chevrolet Malibu, a car for which General Motors has high hopes this fall. Today, Mizrahi's Malibu Style collection debuted on Living Social, the privately held Groupon style shopping site that offers deals on everything from restaurants to travel.
It's a simple, on trend collection that includes just six pieces: a bright blue totebag, quilted leather jacket, driving shoes, oversized watch, a silk blouse, and a skinny colored jean. The items range from $78 for the jeans to $298 for the jacket, and they all look exactly like the kind of things Mizrahi normally designs. Living Social says they'll be available for eight days.
Mizrahi has made a whole series of videos explaining his inspiration. But so far, the Mizrahi collection isn't jumping off the screen. By mid-afternoon, Living Social sold four purses, one pair of shoes, three jackets and two pairs of jeans. However, Chevrolet has taken a fairly low key approach to promoting his collection, perhaps hoping guerilla marketing will be more effective than a big PR blast.
Malibu is merging into an extremely crowded mid-sized sedan field this fall. It has to compete with the newest version of Toyota Camry, which came out last year, as well as fresh models of Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion. Of the group, the Fusion has probably gotten the most attention, through a high-profile campaign featuring Ryan Seacrest.
Malibu reviews have been good, but not overwhelming. This week, Jalopnik.com gave the Malibu Turbo a 50 on its scale of 100. Wrote Jason Torchinsky: "While there's nothing out-and-out horrible about this car, I just can't imagine actually desiring one."
Perhaps Mizrahi's Malibu Style collection will rate a little higher with fashionistas, once they find out about it. Here he is, talking about how the collaboration came about.
