Diffusion Lines by the Dozen: Teva Heels!

Apparently the fashion industry is being plagued by a diffusion line epidemic: in just under a week the likes of Temperley, Rag & Bone, Grey Ant, and Thom Browne have announced that they'll launch lower-priced lines. Temperley, whose dresses can typically retail for over $1,000, is launching a lower-priced line whose price tags will start at a relative mere $57. Of Rag & Bone's new cheaper offshoot that launches this spring, The Cut says, "the rag & bone/JEAN line will include three styles of jeans in eight colorways while rag & bone/SHIRT will include seven styles, each in three colorways. The new lines wholesale for $70 to $80 while the main line wholesales for $60 to $860."

As for Thom Browne, the two new diffusion lines “don’t quite have names yet, but are unofficially called Thom Browne ‘classics’ and Thom Browne ‘red/white/blue.’” Fans of Browne’s flood-ready trousers will be happy to know that they can land the aforementioned lines’ wares at 30-40% less than what Browne’s clothing typically retails for. Also, according to Style.com, from Grey Ant’s lower-priced line ("Grey Antics,” also the moniker of the brand’s line for Urban Outfitters), shoppers can “expect colorful zip-front minidresses and printed board shorts, most for under $100.” Also in the works: high-heeled Velcro sandals (pictured above)—a collaboration with Teva—that look a lot better than they sound. At this rate, given all of these designer diffusion lines and capsule collections for discount retailers like Target, H&M and Topshop, paying top market price for designer goods seems destined for extinction.