Derek Lam’s eBay Collection
Photo: Imaxtree
The full 16-dress Derek Lam for eBay collection.
eBay’s first foray into the high-fashion world came last winter, when the online mega-marketplace teamed up with Narcisco Rodriguez for an eight-piece original collection with prices ranging from $65 to $350.
Now they’re at it again, this time with Derek Lam, who presented his 16-dress collection on February 16 at Lincoln Center. (In true democratic fashion, Lam’s line was on display in the glass-windowed lobby of Alice Tully Hall, where passersby who weren’t on the guest list could still have a look.)
The line, which ranges from $125 for a silk poplin tee dress with a sporty drawstring waist to $295 for a pale floral georgette maxi dress, offers a great spectrum of styles that, while not guaranteed to get fashion girls’ pulses racing (aforementioned floral dress notwithstanding), are basics that the real everywoman will embrace.
Cotton poplin sundresses, in a flippy short black version, longer blue and hot pink version, and bubble-hemmed shirtdress, will be easy daily summer go-tos, while sleek shift dresses with peplum backs are a little more dressed-up options.
Black and white cotton poplin “black tie” evening dresses were slightly glammed up with deep V necklines and full skirts. They won’t likely be making an appearance on the CFDA red carpet, but that’s not the point. At $275, women across America will be picking them up as perfect wedding or formal party fare; Lam hit his eBay everywoman target—and then some.
The real winners in the collection, though, remain to be seen: out of the 16 styles shown, only five, chosen by popular vote at dereklam.ebay.com, will actually be produced.
“I want this to be fun and interactive and do something out of the box,” Lam told Women’s Wear Daily of the initiative, which means that, yes, the lovely floral may never even make it to the virtual sales floor. Voting is open now until February 28, and the results will be revealed on March 1.
Derek Lam for eBay will be available in May.
