Tarjay or Not Tarjay

**Peter Hamby** (0:00)
A quick stat for you. Phoenix Tourism is up 23%. Hotel Occupancy is at 89%.
And a developer called Intersection Development, who already has 15 properties live and operating on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix, has purchased the land for what might be the most interesting hotel project in the country. It's the first ever Atari Hotel. And before you write that off as a novelty concept, consider that the gaming industry just crossed $450 billion, bigger than film and music combined. This project sits at the crossover of that culture with one of the strongest hospitality markets in the US.
Even more interesting is that they filed a Reg A plus with the SEC, which means you can pull up the actual financials projections, full deal structure, and become an investor. Check it out at atarihotels.com. So if you like alternative investments and doing your own due diligence, this one's worth a look. That's atarihotels.com.

**Malique Morris** (1:02)
A big part of it is just that it's easy to buy these things anywhere, right? And I think that's the whole like bringing in a designer with a point of view who can like steer the ship in a way of like, well, what does it mean to come and shop for clothes at Target, you know, at Tarjay?

**Peter Hamby** (1:21)
Welcome to The Powers That Be Daily. The Huck's podcast focused on the intersection of Wall Street, Washington, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood, and the players who run it all. I'm Peter Hamby. It's Friday, June 19th. Today, I'm joined by my colleague, Malique Morris, with a look at whether Target can bring back its Tarjay era for the modern consumer, with the retailer bringing back Isaac Mizrahi to help deliver thoughtful fashion to the suburban masses. And we discuss how the revamp of luxury marketplace, Net-a-Porter, is going under new hard charging leadership. We'll talk about those stories and much more on today's episode of The Powers That Be.
Happy Friday, everybody, and welcome to The Powers That Be. I'm joined today by my colleague from the world of fashion and retail, Malique Morris. He's gonna talk to me about a rumored return of Isaac Mizrahi to Target as the company tries to reestablish themselves in the fashion space, democratizing fashion. As they say, we're also gonna talk about Net-a-Porter, which was acquired last year by Lux Experience and is undergoing a makeover. Let's start with Tarjay, as the suburban moms like to call it in the 2000s, Malique. I want to talk a little bit, of course, about the rumors of Isaac Mizrahi coming back and what he will do at Target. But first, I think we need to talk about why he would be recruited to come back to Target. Lots of people shop for clothes at Target. Of course, they sell everything. But in 2025, Target saw their overall revenues fall by 2% and for accessories and fashion, it fell by 5%.
Now, what I just said, Malique, I cribbed from your piece. Target did have a hand in democratizing Couture a little bit. I don't know what you want to say or how you want to describe that in the 2000s. Are they still seen that way as a place for big fashion brands, maybe not luxury luxury, but to reach customers and has Target gotten away from that in recent years?

**Malique Morris** (3:42)
Well, when I want to say that actually, it's funnily enough when I wrote the story, it was still rumored that Isaac was coming back, but now it's been confirmed. I think it was yesterday.

**Peter Hamby** (3:51)
Good job.

**Malique Morris** (3:52)
That it was, but you know, the story says rumored, but now it's been confirmed. I actually had dinner with Mr. Mizrahi and the Target team last night, which was really, really fun. But no, I mean, I think in the consumer imagination, Target or Tarjay and like that cache that it had for like, you know, the middle-class suburban wine moms as a place to like get like really, really good, ready to wear at a really affordable price with like these really cool designer collaborations started to wane a little bit. And, but the reason of Isaac Mizrahi and why, you know, his return means anything is because he was one of the first designers they actually worked with. And funnily enough when, you know, he was not past his prime and like, but this happened in the early 2000s. So it wasn't like the 90s heyday, the 80s, you know, fashion at the height of his powers in his career, but he still has really great taste and is such an affable, you know, loquacious, you know, personality. And like really was such a fixture that when he went to Target, it ended up blowing out and it was like just a great mashup and collaboration and the piece, you know, I talk about how like that really set off a chain of events of them working with other designers, you know, like a Provenza Schooler, you know, which is incredibly, incredibly luxe, you know, New York downtown fashion and other like Rodards and things of that nature. But obviously also you see these collaborations happening across the high street, across these accessible brands, whether it's, you know, at Gap now or whether you see it at H&M or Zara or what have you. So we set off a chain of events. And so his sort of homecoming to Target is notable for those reasons. But also he really still has this really great sensibility about what it is that people want to wear, specifically in the demographic that is really, really prime Target. You know, Target is still for that 25 to like early 40s customer. And that generation did grow up seeing, you know, Isaac Mizrahi on Project Rumi All-Stars. You know, we grew up watching Unzipped, even though obviously some of us were like not even born or, you know, too young when it came out. It is in the canon. So he still holds that thing in culture. And again, he just has like an impeccable taste level that doesn't take itself too seriously. And it's like kitschy enough that it like makes sense for the target customer that is looking for a little more fun, a little more playful. But they want fashion that still feels serious and that still feels sophisticated.