Spring Break
Juicy
Wearing Your Favorite Celebrity's Designs Could Cost You
Sara Grant
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Focus
It's like a work of art when a gorgeous celebrity dons a tailor-made garment down the red carpet, but it's not so amazing when the roles are reversed and celebrities decide to channel designers. That's exactly what's happening this spring, as there is a surge of celebs who are starting their own clothing lines. Some are worth a try and some are not worth $5, but in Hollywood, once your foot is in the door there aren't many people who could stop you.
The trend began with the ever-so-innovative Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen when they dominated the tween scene with their Wal-Mart clothing line. Since then, celebrities like Sean Combs and Jay-Z have profited immensely from their clothing companies "Sean John" and "Rocawear," respectively.
Today, it's not enough to be a double threat doing music and movies. Celebs are embracing clothing lines as another way of getting their names out there. It would be one thing if the lines were daring and innovative, but much of what we are seeing is generic, starting with Mandy Moore's line, "Mblem."
The pop singer's fashion vision was launched in 2006 and has been featured in New York magazine, InStyle and Marie Claire among other publications and television shows. It was initially launched as a vintage T-shirt collection and has evolved into what they call "fashion forward, contemporary knit wear" on the Web site. Moore received the fashion innovator award at the Accessories Council Excellence Awards in 2007, but frankly I'm not sure why.
The Spring 2008 collection includes graphic prints, spaghetti strap dresses, tunics and wrap dresses - all things we've seen on the racks for the past few years - that can run over $200. Not to mention many of them are drab, one-color items.
The Mblem clothing line can only be found in high-end retail stores in a random selection of states including Arkansas and Georgia and what their site refers to as "better" department stores like Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom.
The trend began with the ever-so-innovative Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen when they dominated the tween scene with their Wal-Mart clothing line. Since then, celebrities like Sean Combs and Jay-Z have profited immensely from their clothing companies "Sean John" and "Rocawear," respectively.
Today, it's not enough to be a double threat doing music and movies. Celebs are embracing clothing lines as another way of getting their names out there. It would be one thing if the lines were daring and innovative, but much of what we are seeing is generic, starting with Mandy Moore's line, "Mblem."
The pop singer's fashion vision was launched in 2006 and has been featured in New York magazine, InStyle and Marie Claire among other publications and television shows. It was initially launched as a vintage T-shirt collection and has evolved into what they call "fashion forward, contemporary knit wear" on the Web site. Moore received the fashion innovator award at the Accessories Council Excellence Awards in 2007, but frankly I'm not sure why.
The Spring 2008 collection includes graphic prints, spaghetti strap dresses, tunics and wrap dresses - all things we've seen on the racks for the past few years - that can run over $200. Not to mention many of them are drab, one-color items.
The Mblem clothing line can only be found in high-end retail stores in a random selection of states including Arkansas and Georgia and what their site refers to as "better" department stores like Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom.
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