Celebrity Fashion Line
Nicole Richie’s New Label Promising
What: Just because 99% of celebrity fashion lines are crap (or have nothing to do with said celebrity), doesn’t mean we should rule them out entirely. Nicole Richie is no newcomer to the concept - she’s done accessories and maternity wear - and she’s taking it up a notch with her new label, Winter Kate - inspired by everything from her baby daughter to her love of peacocks. Silky materials, and not-so-typical apparel items like bed jackets, will play an important role in the line, which will debut this spring. Price points range from $35 to $100.
What They Say:
“I purposely made the slip dresses in both solids and prints,” Richie said. “Wear the prints by themselves or with a great vest or jacket and wear the solids as basics to an outfit with many layers.”
What We Say: We’re not sure why we have such high hopes for Richie’s label - could be the way she naturally talks about it, or could be just that it sounds interesting. Regardless, the line will launch at a bunch of department stores, including Saks, Bloomingdale’s, and Nordstrom, so we’ll all get a chance to check it out.
Predictions?
Olsen Twins Launching Affordable Juniors Collection
What: Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are certainly no dummies when it comes to making money off of fashion - but so far, they’ve catered to the high end. That’s all about to change, though. In February, the powerful pair will launch a juniors collection called “Olsenboye,” with price points ranging from $20 to $50. Teens and those small enough to fit into the clothes can look forward to skirts, denim, tops and bottoms, handbags, shoes…Olsenboye is a pretty comprehensive line. It will be available exclusively at JC Penney’s. However, you can get a sneak peak in early November when Olsenboye goes on sale at JCP.com and select JC Penney’s stores.
What They Say:
“Mary-Kate and I watch current trends and see our partnership with J.C. Penney as an opportunity to add something unique to the marketplace, especially in the current retail climate,” said Ashley.
What We Say: This is clearly a clever move by the Olsens - we’re surprised it didn’t happen sooner - but we’re not sure how “unique” the outcome will really be. And of course, we wonder how much of the new line is actually “designed” by the Olsens. If nothing, it won’t cost us more than $50 bucks to score some trendy pieces, and we are pretty sure teens will flock to JCPenny’s for these affordable finds.
Are you excited about the line?
Affordable Style Gets En Vogue
What: Affordable clothes are chic, in case you hadn’t already heard. At least judging by recent sales of clothes and accessories made by “accessible” designers like Tommy Hilfiger and Tory Burch. Designers like Tommy and Tory are reportedly bucking the recession by creating “bridge collections” and selling their clothes at a more moderate price point—like skirts for $250 and pants for $175—which American consumers are now going out and buying in droves.
What the Times Says:
“We are positioned very well with accessible, affordable luxury and this is something we have been doing for 25 years,” said designer Tommy Hilfiger.
What We Say: Affordable luxury certainly is an interesting concept. While a lot of the designers mentioned in this article—including Phillip Lim and Alexander Wang—are still selling clothes that are too expensive for us to afford, we do appreciate that they are trying to sell their apparel at a lower price point. However, $250 bucks for a skirt still isn’t cheap (but cheap(er))
Selena Gomez’s Fashion Line
What: Disney star Selena Gomez isn’t just a singer and an actress—now she’s also a designer. Gomez, known best for her role on Wizards of Waverly Place, is getting ready to launch her first line of clothing in 2010. The collection, called Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez, will reportedly include dresses, printed tops, jeans, skirts, jackets, and accessories all in a “pretty, feminine and bohemian” style. Not only that, but Gomez says the collection will be eco-friendly, as well, since it will be made with organic cotton and other recycled fabrics.
What WWD Says:
“Growing up in Texas, I was sort of close-minded and kind of a tomboy, but as I’ve traveled, I found such a love of clothes,” said Gomez. “It’s really always been a dream of mine to have a line.”
What We Say: Although Selena’s name will be on the clothes, it doesn’t seem like the tween star will actually be doing much “designing” on her new line—at least by the sound of it. That task will fall mainly on the line’s creative director, Tony Melillo. Still, it’ll be fun to see what Mr. Melillo comes up with and what the price points end up being once more of the specifics of the line start getting worked out.
Femme by Hilary Duff Now Available
What: Another celebrity fashion line has just hit stores, and this time it’s Femme by Hilary Duff. The DKNY collection is, naturally, available on DKNY.com - but it can also be purchased on Macys.com. Prices hover around $60, and include fairly original pieces, like this $69 purple sweater scarf and this $89 boyfriend blazer.
What We Say: First Lindsey and now Hillary….Ok, so this line isn’t as bad as the Lindsey-turn-fashion-designer line and isn’t Miley Cyrus cheap or Lauren Conrad affordable, but it’s intriguing. And some items really do seem worth the price tag, especially this sequin trim halter dress for $49. Plus, when you consider that Ana Sui’s Target line consists mostly of clothes that cost $30 to $60, Femme doesn’t seem so overpriced.
What do you think?
Urban Brands Get Chic
What: Forget baggy jeans and baseball caps. Traditionally urban fashion lines like Baby Phat now say they are getting chic by creating niche lines—featuring hot pants and gold bikinis, no less—that are meant to appeal to a younger, hipper consumer.
What They Say:
“My style is now chic fashion, just as much as it is hip-hop and rock-and-roll,” said Baby Phat founder Kimora Lee Simmons.
What We Say: Uhhhh.. Did we miss something here? Like most of Baby Phat’s fashiona appeal to the under 25 set? I mean has Kimmora, whom we do love, ever seen he own line? I wouldn’t exactly call a gold lame jumpsuit baggy.
Emma Watson Goes Green with New Line
What: Emma Watson recently joshed about celebrity fashion lines - saying she would never do one for the sake of her ego, but would be up to doing it for the sake of the environment or some other worthy cause. Well, the folks over at People Tree (a pro-fair trade retailer) must have overheard. Because Emma Watson and People Tree are now working together on a collection that will debut February 2010. Young 20-somethings should be most excited about the line, which will feature jersey t-shirts, dresses, and other knitwear made with them in mind. Of course, all of the clothes will consist of 100% cotton and will be made by fair-trade artisans.
What They Say:
Emma has utilized her love of fashion, great personal style and young perspective to help develop a range that will bring Fair Trade and organic fashion to a new audience.
What We Say: Think Julia Stiles will come with another parody video on the topic of eco-friendly fashion now? We’ll hold our tongue until we find out how much these “fair-trade” pieces will cost…
Lauren Conrad Line for Kohl’s Now On Sale
What: Lauren Conrad wasn’t kidding when she said she was coming back to fashion. While her previous line folded, the Lauren Conrad LC collection is now available for sale on Kohls.com.
What They Say:
The collection features tops, bottoms and dresses for $20 to $60. LC’s collection are wardrobe basics like jeans and knits, so don’t expect anything fancy or ‘designed”, some pieces feature stripes and prints, that’s about it.
What We Say: We really love the LC Lauren Conrad Watercolor Ruffled Dress, but we don’t love its $60 price tag. Still, there are other more affordable options - like this $20 seamless camisole - but none are all that interesting. In fact, one would expect something a little more vibrant to come out of such a young, “hip” designer. What do you think of the line?
Lindsay Lohan “Advises” Ungaro: Fashion is Officially Dead
What: In what may be the most baffling fashion news since the re-emergence of Hammer pants, professional celebrity Lindsay Lohan has joined the fashion house Ungaro as it’s “artistic adviser”, in an effort to help the brand appear “younger” and overseeing the houses main desginer, Estrella Archs. The new collaboration will premier during Paris Fashion Week on October 4th.
Lindsay told WWD:
“When I’m involved in a project, I give my all to it,” she said. “...I’ve always played a big part in what I wear, the costumes. Clothing is something that’s so expressive in so many ways…To be in a position where I’m working with a fashion house in Paris sets it apart from every other celebrity brand.”
What We Say: Are things so bad for fashion houses that they’re now hiring celebrities to promote, opps we mean “design” lines for them. Wasn’t she suppose to be designing a line of $30 leggings? Does anyone even find Lindsay Lohan fashionable? Also, what qualifies Lohan to “oversee”, the house’s designe Archs? With an acting career that has been lukewarm as of late, perhaps she should focus on “overseeing” her career.
P.S. I do love her hair…
Listen Up: Claudia Jordan Chats with Kathryn about Hair Care on Shoptalk
Click on the player below to listen:
Today on Shoptalk, Kathryn chats with supermodel Claudia Jordan, best known as model #1 on “Deal or No Deal” and star of this past season’s “The Celebrity Apprentice”, host of “The Claudia Jordan Show” and Co-Host (with Jamie Foxx) of “The Foxxhole”- both on Sirius Radio. Listen In
Whitney Port Designs Lipstick for Charity
What: Yet another “celebrity” beauty line. Reality TV starlet and budding fashion designer, Whitney Port has teamed up with Cargo cosmetics to create a ‘signature shade’ of bright pink lipstick. Although the product has already sold at Sephora in the short time it’s been for sale online, reps for the company say it should be back in stock and available to purchase—with a $20 price tag—sometime within the next two weeks.
What They Say:
“The bright pink color is called Eve Pinky (Eve is Whitney’s middle name), and is part of Cargo’s Plant Love collection, which means it’s 100 percent natural and ECOCERT certified,” writes Allure magazine. “But perhaps best of all, the brand will donate $2 from every tube to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.”
What We Say: While $20 for a tube of lipstick seems a bit pricey to us, it is nice to see that (some of) the proceeds are going to a deserving charity like St. Jude. Still, the question remains: Would you be willing to pay a little more for a beauty product if you know the proceeds were going to worthy cause? and more importantly… Who is Whitney Port?
Beyonce Does Daywear, Too
What: Is there anything Beyonce can’t do? Just a month after she launched a junior’s collection, Beyonce and her mom Tina are announcing plans to expand their House of Deréon clothing line as well. The ladies say they are planning to debut the collection of silk jumpsuits, daytime dresses and knitwear at U.S. department stores in time for spring with wholesale prices ranging from $70 to $100.
What Tina Knowles Says:
“Beyoncé and I have had several occasions where we have meetings all day and don’t have time to run and change before dinner,” says Tina. “This is a perfect collection to wear from the office to dinner because each piece can easily be dressed up or down.”
What We Say: She hasn’t had the greatest luck selling her House of Deréon line in the past, so it’s not entirely clear why Beyonce would want to continue the madness by adding on to the collection. Nonetheless, we’re looking forward to seeing what more of the pieces actually look like, and judging for ourselves whether anyone would actually wear them to the office or dinner.
Julia Stiles Mocks Celeb/Eco-Friendly Lines
What: We were so ready for a celeb to see the humor in the fashion lines their cohorts are putting out left and right. Julia Stiles steps back into the public spotlight with a priceless parody on the subject. In a video, which you can watch on YouTube, she introduces her own eco-friendly clothing line.
What The Cut Says: “She calls the first design “Ten Shirts I Love About You.” Next up is a model in a suit made of newspaper with what look like shoes made of tissue boxes. Stiles says, “People say the newspaper industry is dying. But I say it’s living. Living on your body.” Last up are “shants” — a hybrid of shirts and pants. “I was just shooting in Belize and in St. Tropez and I met this homeless man who had never owned a shirt in his life. He had taken his pants and worn them as a shirt, and I just thought it was so creative. He was just liberated from the conventions of fashion,” she quips, possibly mocking Erin Wasson.”
What We Say: This is almost worthy of a cheesy LOL insert. Stiles takes Lady Gaga’s playful amusement of the “serious” fashion folks to a whole new level, and we love it. The ironic part is we’d be totally fine with a line from Stiles - she’s always been one of the classier actresses out there.
Did this make you laugh?
Molly Sims Designs HSN Jewelry Line
What: Model/actress Molly Sims has moved on from her five-season stint on the NBC drama Las Vegas and into a new role—jewelry designer. The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and host of MTV’s House of Style has teamed up with HSN to launch her very own line of costume jewelry called Grayce, which is set to debut on the network in November.
What WWD Says: “The line is inspired by Art Deco design from the Twenties, ‘understated glamour’ reminiscent of the Sixties and her love for travel and photography.”
What We Say: She may have worn jewelry in her modeling days or talked about it while hosting House of Style, but we’re not exactly clear on what qualifications Molly Sims has to design an entire collection of costume jewelry (and you too Kelly Killoren Bensimon). The trend of celebrity-endorsed lines really is losing steam and Molly isn’t as big as say, Paula Abdul (who also has an HSN jewelry line), so we don’t think this is going to be a real money maker for the shopping network.
Kelly Killoren Bensimon Launches A Jewelry Line?
Next to Nene and Caroline, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, is our favorite kooky Real Housewife. Who could forget her disjointed argument in the bar with fellow NYC Housewife, Bethenny Frankel or the cameras following her as she takes her morning jog down the center of 5th Avenue? Classic…
Well, the model-author-mom is adding “jewelry designer” to the many things she does with a line of Navaho & Snake inspired pieces currently being sold at New York’s Intermix as well as on the store’s website, Intermixonline.com.
While the line isn’t budget friendly (unless you consider a $515 crystal cuff budget), the collection does offer some affordable options- like this Crystal Double Head Snake Ring, that looks like it is made of sapphires and emerald, but for a lunch skipping $88, is made of crystals.
Verdict: Maybe. Our advice? She might want to rethink the price points.
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