Oh, the vanity of celebs who think their fame is enough to become fashion designers
You might be forgiven for thinking that every fashion designer has gone the way of John Galliano and been driven out of their ateliers, only to be replaced by young actresses, pop stars and models.
These starlets all seem to think that because they love fashion and, um, wear it, they are uniquely placed to become the next Yves Saint Laurent.
From high end to the High Street, every big brand is desperately trying to find a fashion match made in heaven that will help sales soar in a difficult, over-saturated market.
Change of direction: Singer Lily Allen has quit
music to open vintage store Lucy in Disguise with her sister Sarah. They
are also launching their own clothing range
I always found Kate Moss’s designs for Topshop lazy and overpriced (one of the main reasons High Street brands hire stars is to hike up the prices).
So, is an ability to be able to afford lovely clothes or wear them on a catwalk sufficient qualification for developing a brand?
LILY ALLEN
I really wanted to love the former pop star’s vintage clothing store Lucy in Disguise, but when I phoned the shop, no one answered, while the website is hopeless: you can’t see any of the clothes. This sort of thing can turn me off a brand for decades. Let’s hope Allen’s new line of clothing, inspired by her retro pieces, will be more accessible.
Available in Harvey Nichols in late June. Prices up to £350 for an evening dress.
DAISY LOWE FOR PEACOCKS
While
her mother Pearl has long collaborated with budget High Street chain
Peacocks, Daisy Lowe has, until now, merely modelled the
Fifties-inspired floral tea dresses, all priced at less than £40.
Cool for curves: Daisy Lowe has her own swimwear range
Prices from £18 for a bikini, £20 for a swimsuit; peacocks.co.uk
SIMPSON STYLE
The Jessica Simpson Collection is expected to notch up more than £620 million in sales this year
EMMA WATSON
Having
worked with ethical label People Tree for some time, Watson has turned
her attention to something more upmarket, producing a capsule collection
with Alberta Ferretti called Pure Threads. Commendably, the actress has
achieved a first by persuading an Italian luxury brand to think about
ethical production.A proportion of the profits will go to support the People Tree Foundation, although prices are steep for a collection aimed the very young — organic denim and hemp shorts are £220, and an organic cotton sundress is £704. But this is still reasonable for the Ferretti aesthetic: very feminine, romantic clothes.
From albertaferretti.com
Ethical
fashion: Emma Watson has collaborated with Alberta Ferretti on a
collection where a proportion of the profits will go to the People Tree
Foundation
SARAH JESSICA PARKER FOR HALSTON HERITAGE
On the catwalk: One of Sarah Jessica Parker's designs for Halston Heritage
SJP hasn’t strayed far from the label’s Studio 54 heyday and prices are almost Seventies, too: £200 to £300 for a day dress, £500 for an evening dress.
It’s interesting that while SATC’s costume designer, Patricia Field’s collaboration with M&S floundered (too cheap-looking), SJP succeeds because she knows her target audience: women over 35 who want to look sophisticated but not old, feminine and not overly tailored.
Available at net-a-porter.com, asos.com and Matches.
GERI HALLIWELL FOR NEXT
This is a cheap, cheerful collection of bikinis, swimsuits, kaftans and wraps. And while I’m not a fan of Next, this is a good fit: Geri’s veneer of ordinariness chimes nicely with Next customers and, unlike many stars, she really threw herself into the design process.
In her Highgate home, she spread fabric, drawings, swatches and trims on her enormous coffee table to show me and insisted her battle with her own body makes her uniquely qualified to dress women when they are feeling at their most vulnerable — on holiday — which is something even the likes of Marc Jacobs will never be able to do.
From £38, next.com
THE OLSEN TWINSMary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the 24-year-old former child stars, founded label The Row — after Savile Row, despite the fact nothing is made within several thousand miles of the home of British tailoring — in 2007, frustrated at being unable to find perfect, luxury basics.
Prices are high, with blazers at over £1,000 and a silk georgette dress £1,400.
Again, the girls raid their own vintage archives for inspiration, which makes me wonder whether celebrity designers merely copy, rather than innovate.
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