College Candy

On the heels of the release of clothing line “Bitten” from Sarah Jessica Parker and “Elizabeth and James” from MK and Ashley Olsen, an article recently appeared in The New York Times criticizing the extreme rise in the number of celebrity designers. Apparently, designer Phillip Lim is only one of many designers who is concerned by this phenomenon- and I don’t blame him.

At first there were a few labels by celebrities like Sean John by rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and L.A.M.B. by singer Gwen Stefani. In these beginning stages the public could realistically believe that these few celebrity/designers had a genuine interest in contributing to the fashion world.

It wasn’t long before other celebrities smelled the money making, publicity friendly empire. Labels consisting of basic tanks, oddly shaped jeans, and tacky looking accessories were assembled and thrown into the market. Countless celebrity fashion lines later, it’s quite obvious that this is no longer about the clothes.

As the consumer, we can easily dodge crappy labels and opt to spend our money elsewhere. However, the consumer is not the victim in this story. Those who suffer from the carelessly assembled celebrity fashion labels are young up-and-coming fashion designers. These kids who have wasted thousands of dollars at design school and slaved away for hours in front of sewing machines only to discover their work doesn’t mean a thing. Sadly, an overpriced t-shirt made from cheap material “designed” by a celebrity is generally going to sell quicker than an interesting piece by a breakthrough designer.

Of course there are still a number of individuals around who appreciate decent style and give a handful of young designers the chance to succeed. It’s not impossible for a nobody to break through and become recognized for their extraordinary designs, but this obstacle makes the process a hell of a lot harder.

Personally, I think that most of these celebrities should just stick to what they’re good at- singing, acting, whatever it may be. Of course their clothes will sell, but no respectable woman will ever view a J-Lo velour jumpsuit as the height of fashion. Give the designers a break and if you must, invade a new industry.