Talbots and O, The Oprah Magazine Get Ready to Launch ‘Cardigans for a Cause’
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ALL BUTTONED UP: Decades after Coco Chanel, Fred Rogers and Jackie Kennedy championed the cardigan in their own respective ways, Talbots and O, The Oprah Magazine are magnifying the staple with “Cardigans for a Cause.”
To symbolize their fifth co-branded capsule collection, five variations of the sweater will be offered for a limited run starting on Feb. 18. As has been the case in years past, 30 percent of the net proceeds will go to Dress for Success.
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This time around O’s creative director Adam Glassman and the Talbots design team decided to switch things up by zeroing in on one signature category, which for Talbots meant cardigans — instead of creating a range of items. There are different styles for different occasions. Shoppers will find a chevron-striped cardigan, a belted midi-length style, a floral option, a nautical-inspired one and an elongated solid cardigan with striped accents. Retail prices will range from $89.50 to $159 with two of the five styles being solely offered online. Inclusive sizing will also be offered via misses, petite, plus and plus petite.
In addition to buying the co-branded capsule collection, consumers can support the cause by leaving new or nearly new, work-friendly apparel and accessories at Talbots stores from Feb. 20 to 24. Monetary donations will also be accepted in stores and online during that time. For the first time, DFS clients have modeled the capsule collection for Talbots’ catalogue and on its site. Most of them are expected at the Feb. 18 launch event that will include a Satellite Media Tour at Talbots’ Madison Avenue store.
The collaboration has raised more than $6.9 million, according to a Talbots spokeswoman. To date, 18,000-plus boxes of donated workwear have been collected and provided to more than 120,000 women in the U.S.
Although the latest drop marks Talbots’ fifth year of working with O, the 542-unit retailer first joined forces with Dress For Success six years ago.
Readers of O can get a glimpse of the capsule collection in the just-released March issue. With this year marking the 20th anniversary of O magazine, each month the media outlet is spotlighting people who change the way we look at the world. Journalist, activist and former first lady of California Maria Shriver is one of the changemakers featured in the March issue. She was photographed wearing one of the co-branded cardigans.
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