With its latest collaboration, Target is going from Missoni to Tony. It's not exactly resurrecting the Rat Pack, but the retailer's new deal with Tony Bennett underscores one thing: Retro is cool.

The mass retailer has always been known for pace-setting deals with, for example, name product designers that have kept Target on the watch lists of style-conscious young women — and typically out of the same sentence with "Walmart." Target's hit (and sold out) collaboration with Missoni is the latest example of that.

While its exclusive promotion with the 85-year-old crooner isn't quite on the Missoni scale, this one also involves a collaboration with a venerable brand of Italian descent. In announcing that it will offer an exclusive version of Tony Bennett's new studio album, Duets II, beginning today, Target is laying down yet another marker of its cultural relevance.Continue reading...

Our most-read blog posts of the week include Nike's Back to the Future shoes, Diet Coke's new can, Lady Gaga's social network, Fashion Week, and more:

#1 NIKE MAG eBay Auction Goes Live - and Back to the Future [Video]

#2 Chipotle Scores Sustainable Hit with Willie Nelson's Coldplay Cover

#3 Diet Coke's New Look Launches at Target

#4 Dear America: Zara Launches US Web Sales

#5 Honest Tea a Wallflower No More Thanks to Label Redesign

#6 Bollywood's Bodyguard Features Hollywood-Style Product Placement

#7 Lady Gaga's Gift to Fans: The LittleMonsters.com Social Network

#8 Sir Richard’s: The Philanthropic Prophylactic

#9 As Fiat x Gucci Unveils at Fashion Week, "Icon" Claim May Be Unfashionably Early

#10 New York Fashion Week: Greener, Cleaner and Meaner

Chipotle Mexican Grill is going Hollywood to shed light on the importance of a sustainable food eco-system as seen in the above video, “Back to the Start.”

Featuring a moving cover of Coldplay's The Scientist by music legend Willie Nelson, the two-minute stop-motion animated short follows a farmer who turns his family business into an industrial animal factory, reaping disastrous results before coming to his senses and choosing a more sustainable future. 

The film by Irish animator Johnny Kelly and the soundtrack were commissioned by Chipotle in their first foray into branded entertainment, and will be shown in 5,700 theaters across the United States starting in September.

The video also supports the brand's increased commitment to promoting sustainability via a new foundation and a first-of-its-kind event.Continue reading...