Jason Wu Next Designer ‘Target’ for Retail Giant

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Attention Target shoppers.

Another designer collaboration; Aisle 13; women’s wear and handbags.

Of-the-moment designer and first lady Michelle Obama’s  favorite Jason Wu  is  next in line to take on the design-for-the-masses entrepreneurial model, Target announced today.

The news was teased on Twitter last night by @TargetStyle and confirmed today by the chain in a YouTube video.

“The exciting thing about this limited edition collection of affordable women’s wear and accessories is that it allows me to reach a wider audience and bring my designs to people who may not have been able to purchase them before,” Wu told Women’s Wear Daily.

The young designer broke into the national spotlight nearly three years ago when Michelle Obama wore one of his original designs at  the 2009 inaugural ball.

He has remained a favorite of the first lady, who was spotted shopping in a suburban Virginia Target  last month.

The first lady was said to have picked up food and toys for first pooch, Bo, on that trip but  come February, she might also use a Target trip to stock up on Wu-designed clothes and handbags.

Judging by the reaction from the chain’s last collaboration with an A-list fashion house, the Missoni for Target line, shoppers  may want to line up now for Wu’s Feb. 5 launch.

The Missoni launch proved that even a retail giant like Target can be overwhelmed by fashion-hungry, discount-seeking fashionistas.

Lines stretched out the doors of Target stores across the country ahead of the Missoni launch, quickly rendering store aisles bare of the line’s signature, striped clothing and home goods.

The Target.com website was then down for hours after being flooded by shoppers trying to purchase online what they couldn’t find in stores.

Meanwhile, the savviest of savvy shoppers posted their Missoni for Target purchases on eBay, listing them for hundreds of dollars more than the Target price.

Target has yet to announce the exact details of Wu’s launch.