Olivia Palermo is arguably the most benevolent street-style stars, for she has consistently paid the good fashion forward by way of affordable collaborations with some of our favorite retailers. There's her ongoing partnership with Nordstrom's Chelsea28, which has, over the seasons, given us many Fashion Week-ready garments for under-$100. Now, it seems Palermo will growing her stockists this year, expanding her ambassador role at Banana Republic into that of a full-fledged designer.
WhoWhatWear reports that Palermo is set to debut her first capsule for the mall staple come fall '17. Ever since she was named Banana Republic's global style ambassador back in September, Palermo has curated a section on the brand's website of her favorite pieces from its latest collection. (This is, of course, on top of other responsibilities such as appearing at its Fashion Week events and wearing Banana Republic better than virtually anyone else). The autumn collection will be her first go at designing for the retailer, though.
"We’re a great team," Palermo said in a statement about her relationship to Banana Republic. "It’s truly been such a collaborative approach that reflects the synergy between my style and the brand.”
Banana Republic has been struggling for the past few years — not just in sales, but also with personnel: It first lost Marissa Webb as its creative director after only a year and a half, and its president, Andi Owen, is expected to exit the company come late February, according to CNBC. On the brand side, though, Banana Republic brought on Palermo and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love as representatives, as a way to tap into their respective followings. Still, it's faring better than some of its fellow mall tenants, which have totally closed doors in 2017.
While we'll have to wait until September to see how Palermo's style sensibilities translate to Banana Republic's main collection, it (thankfully!) won't take months after its debut to actually shop it: Since the retailer has shifted to a see now, buy now presentation schedule, the capsule will be available for purchase right after its New York Fashion Week event, according to WhoWhatWear. We'll have our credit cards handy.
This story has been updated with a statement from Olivia Palermo.
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