My coverage of celebrity fashion lines have either been scant or negative. Unfortunately I’m never interested in the celeb in question (Madonna, J-Lo, Kate Moss) and the clothes never take me by pleasant surprise (even the Lily Allen dress appeal wore off once I saw it in person). So I’ll take the opportunity here to go out of my comfort zone and give my two cents about the whole phenomenon and apply it to celebs that I think do actually give a poop about what they are selling. However, the Olsen twins and I’m not declaring myself to be a die-hard fan here, and their dress sense has always piqued my interest. The way they mix, the stuff they choose and their overall attitude in their outfits is not for me inspiring but not something to be scoffed at either. I’m not saying they’re completely original style mavericks but at least I get the impression they’re generally adamnant about what they want to wear and are actually having fun with fashion. Thus I have some semi-expectations as to what they put their name to in high fashion (I’ll just ignore their cash cow contributions to Wal-Mart) as they seem to have their heart set on genuine fashion credibility.
So along came their ‘couture’ line of super super lux basics, a concept alas that is lost on someone who just can’t justify spending ¬£200 on a t-shirt. Nothing wrong with pieces from ‘The Row’ but I feel as a first foray into high fashion, there’s too much of a desire to shroud it in exclusivity and over-the-top luxury (see inflated prices for proof) that is quite off-putting for a consumer seeing these ‘designers’ (I’ll just assume that The Row is completely under their creative control) just starting out. All the top stores – Colette, Corso Como and Harvey Nichols will stock The Row, but whether this means guaranteed sales, that remains to be seen. A tank top from The Row may feel like you’re wearing the best tank top known to mankind but I’m content to stick it out with ths usual tat thanks so it’s a pass for me.
Now they are set to launch Elizabeth and James, a contemporary ‘sportswear’ line (as described by WWD though I’m not getting anything remotely ‘sporty’ about it) for fall and it’s in partnership with L‚ÄôKoral Industries who have had successes with brands like Seven for all Mankind jeans. The label is named after Mary Kate and Ashley’s other two siblings and they have said this about the label:
"We wanted it to be based on a relationship between a young girl and a boy and tell the story through the clothing.” “It’s a clash between masculinity and femininity,”
What I would hope would come out of a line like this is something of their eclecticism and ‘fun in fashion’ in their personal style. Applying personal style to celebrity lines is a bit of a danger minefield. People like Kate Moss stuck to that avenue which had a detrimental effect in terms of creativity (nothing detrimental to the profits of course!) simply because there is no real design qualities that can be appreciated. What the Olsens could do is apply their spirit of style to a line like this that is meant to be more affordable but not something that replicates their wardrobe. It’s quite hard to tell from these, in my opinion, poor catalogue shoot photos but it does look like there has been a conscious effort to do just that. It’s a bit of a hotchpotch mix of vintage style (sequin dress) and modern sportswear (hooded jumpsuit). The white dress that Ashley Olsen wore to the CFDA awards is also from the Elizabeth and James collection which is also a nice mix of vintage inspiration and modern clean-cut styling. It might be a little premature to say without more detailed photos, but with the right price points, Elizabeth and James may not be a complete fashion write-off as celeb lines go.
There you go. My worthless opinion on a subject matter that I probably won’t touch for a very long time now.
it seems like lately everyone is up in arms about celebrity designers. i agree with you that elizabeth and james may have some type of potential in the fashion world. besides that, i’m pretty much discouraged with a lot of the crap i’m seeing out there. this girl has some fairly interesting points:
http://collegecandy.com/style/3345
I haven’t been paying 20 grand a year for my education to wear clothes by someone who doesn’t understand anything about fabric, style, or trend.
Let’s hope this epidemic comes to an end.
agree with you, I dont find anything interesting in celeblines, they are not designers so they dont know anything about designing and the result id a fiasco! but the The Row has sth different and as you I kind of a Olsens way of interpreting fashion fan… but not a fan of them as actresses cause as far as I remember from their childhood movies they are pretty bad actresses…
I like the Row and I¬¥m in love with their tees (although I think they are overpriced) but E&J is nothing different from what was already in the market, it seems like another celebline… boring and dissaponinting…
but until now the most disappointeing celebline was Bitten, by SJP
I think this one has potential. If I had £200 I WOULD buy those tees cos they have got everything right Рthe fabric/proportions/(minimalist) detail. And I like the white dress from the Elizabeth & James collection. To me, they are all miles apart from other celeb ranges which are just commercial marketing exercises and nothing original.
I have to agree with you 100%. The Kate Moss line was a rip off of designer clothing she already owns in her closet. The price points of the SJP line “Bitten” were intriguing but the designs are basic & lackluster. I skipped the Madonna line entirely. Even if MK & Ashley did employ the use of couture techniques to make their tees & tanks for The Row, I simply cannot justify spending that much money on a plain tee/tank. I just can’t…I would much rather spend that money on something from Phillip Lim or Marc Jacobs among others. The Elizabeth & James line does look like it would be more of an interest to me than The Row, but the price points also suggest I won’t be diverting any of my funds from my other designer favorites.
Grey-marl-odd-tee-plus-skinnies might be one of the most tired looks in recent memory. Yes, the girls work it with panache but it does not justify the hysterical media frenzy and heavy profiling. Beautiful and tangled blonde locks do not maketh fresh designs.
I think fashion has gone a little crazy with celebs designing lines.
But I am finally admitting I do like the olsen’s style. I can see myself buying E&J, I too love suits and floor sweeping dresses.
MK=White
Ashley=Black
I agree with Erika – am totally fed up with celebrity ‘designers’. I’m of the opinion that it doesn’t really matter about who designs, they just have to know what they are doing. What about architects as designers? (I recently posted about Frank Gehry’s collection for Tiffany’s) I think it turned out pretty well and reckon it will also quietly sell by the bucketload minus the hype…
If you look at the picture, there is another girl in black posing with the twins. I thought this was their friend Danielle Sherman who is the one actually designing the clothes. I read this some time ago but now can’t find the article. So not really celebrity designers, just celebrity marketers. That was for The Row, not sure about the new line.
Celebrity lines are crap, and that is a fact. These two girls should not be given the media coverage that they get. It is unfortunate that my beloved Vogue does not agree.