Quick Facts

• Target named Isaac Mizrahi creative director at large on June 15, 2026, the first such role in the retailer’s history.
• Mizrahi’s original Target line ran from 2002 to 2009 and grew to more than $300 million in annual sales over five years.
• The appointment follows Target’s Q1 2026 net sales of $25.4 billion, a 6.7% year-over-year increase that prompted the company to raise its full-year growth outlook to 4%.

Target has brought back Isaac Mizrahi, the four-time CFDA award winner who helped define the retailer’s design identity in the early 2000s. The Minneapolis-based chain named Mizrahi its first creative director at large on June 15, 2026, a newly created position that puts him in an advisory and mentorship role alongside the company’s internal design teams.

WWD first reported the expected appointment on May 18. Target confirmed the role on Monday. TGT stock rose 1.95% on the news.

In the role, Mizrahi will advise on product design and innovation, mentor designers across the organization, and help develop new brand partnerships. He will work directly with Gena Fox, Target’s senior vice president of design. Target also plans to launch a formal mentorship program later this summer, giving designers company-wide direct access to Mizrahi.

Cara Sylvester, Target’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, framed the hire around the chain’s core value proposition. “Isaac has always believed, as we do, that great design should be accessible to everyone,” Sylvester said. “What excites me most is the opportunity to pair his creativity and perspective with the incredible talent we already have inside Target.”

Mizrahi echoed that position. “My partners at Target and I have always shared the idea that great design should belong to everybody,” he said. “My role is to collaborate with its incredible team to bring more joy, style and sophistication to design through storytelling, creativity and a shopping experience that feels even more fun.”

The original Mizrahi-Target partnership launched in 2002, marking the first time the retailer collaborated with a major fashion designer. The collection grew from clothing and accessories into bedding, housewares, and pet products. Sales tripled over five years to more than $300 million before the partnership ended in 2009. That collaboration opened the door to more than 150 subsequent designer partnerships at Target, including Lilly Pulitzer, Missoni, Altuzarra, and Zac Posen.

The rehire is part of a broader turnaround effort under CEO Michael Fiddelke, who took the role in February 2026. Target outlined a multi-year growth strategy in March that includes $2 billion in incremental investment for 2026, split between capital expenditures and operating investments. Fiddelke said in Q1 earnings remarks that Target would “make more change to what we sell and how we sell it in 2026 than we’ve seen in a decade.”

Target posted first-quarter net sales of $25.4 billion, a 6.7% gain from a year ago. Comparable sales rose 5.6%, ending four straight quarters of decline. The company raised its full-year net sales growth target to roughly 4%, up from a prior projection of 2%.

One retail industry expert cited by Retail Dive called Mizrahi a rare designer who understands assortment strategy across price tiers, from luxury at Bergdorf Goodman to mass market at QVC. “Target is getting a creative director who is a merchant,” the expert said. The same expert cautioned that Mizrahi’s work at Target must stand apart from his QVC tenure and that design alone will not resolve all of the retailer’s merchandising challenges.

Mizrahi’s brand has generated more than $1 billion in retail sales since he launched his eponymous label in 1987. His designs have appeared on Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, and Rihanna. Target operates more than 2,000 stores across the United States.

Read more: ‘Chic. Affordable. Divine.’ Isaac Mizrahi returns to Target