Demand for Target’s Missoni collection, on sale Tuesday, overwhelmed the site and led to a shutdown for two hours.2:31 p.m. | Updated to reflect that as of 2:30 p.m., the site was still down.
Sometimes, a store can create too much buzz.
Target started selling a capsule collection from Missoni, the Italian brand known for its zigzag knits and bright patterns, Tuesday morning. Priced at a fraction of what Missoni usually costs, the line had created enormous interest among fashion editors and regular Target shoppers alike.
And it brought down all of Target.com.
The Missoni items became available around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Target.com went down around 9 a.m. and stayed down until approximately 11 a.m., but even then, it has worked for only minutes at a time during the day. At 2:30 p.m. it was still down.
“Due to an overwhelming amount of traffic to Target.com as a result of the Missoni launch this morning, guests are unable to access the site,” Target said in a statement. “Providing a positive shopping experience to our guests is important to us and we are working to get the site back up as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Twitterers were furious. Some reported they had finally gotten onto the site, only to have the error page load when they got to checkout. Shopping sites were offering workarounds, including loading Target’s mobile site, which, too, was crashing intermittently, or just calling its toll-free number. Target also took to Twitter to offer apologies, but its last message was at roughly 11:30 a.m.
Target has done a number of collaborations with expensive designers, including Calypso St. Barth and Jean-Paul Gaultier, selling lower-priced designs by them in cheaper fabrics. The Missoni for Target line includes accessories like flats and barrettes, clothes, and a $599.99 patio set in the signature zigzag pattern.
The Missoni line seems to have created outsized demand. When Target set up a pop-up shop in New York City last week with the Missoni items, the clothes and accessories sold out in a night. At a shopping preview last week for fashion editors, the shelves were in “mid-ravage” condition moments after editors were let inside, reported shopping site Racked NY.