The collab: Halston for JCPenney
When: 1983
Why: Though clearly ahead of his time as far as business models go, disco designer Halston got in on the mainstream collaboration thing about thirty years too early. After launching the affordable Halston III line at the way-affordable JCPenney, more exclusive stores like Bergdorf Goodman got snobby and stopped selling his higher priced line. At a New York Times Talk in 2009, Marc Jacobs revealed that his hesitancy towards doing collaborations is based on Halston’s career.