Chic Trendwatch: Celebrity Designs

She’s a had a hit TV show (may it rest in peace), a couple of big-screen appearances, her own perfume, a self-titled album, and now, she will complete the list with her own clothing line. Thursday August 16th, Paris Hilton will be at Kitson Boutique in L.A. for a meet-and-greet and the release of her new clothing line, appropriately named after herself. Her new line is in partnership with Dollhouse Denim with prices ranging from $30-$100 and is set to appear in Macy’s and Nordstrom in the fall.

 These days, everyone loves to hate on my girl Paris, but whether her motive be for fashion, fame or money, she is not the first or the only celebrity style icon to come out with her own clothing line. Also on the list: Gwen Stefani, Mandy Moore, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Milla Jovovich, Penelope Cruz, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and even Amanda Bynes. Just as their own personal styles differ, so do their labels, ranging from high-end couture to under $19.98.

We all remember Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Full House days, we all swooned as they rode into the sunset with two Parisian boys on Vespas in Passport to Paris, and we cannot get the tabloid images of a frail, rehab-bound Mary-Kate out of our heads no matter how hard we try. But more importantly, we remember what they were wearing at each of those phases in their lives because they have always been walking fashion statements. Now, at 21 they are making an even bigger statement with two ah-mazing new fashion lines: The Row by Ashley Olsen and Elizabeth and James.

The Row is a high-end couture line inspired by Ashley’s own personal style, and is only available at 10 Corso Como in Milan, Harvey Nichols in London, Isetan in Tokyo, Barneys in New York, and Maxfield in Los Angeles. She debuted her line at a Balenciaga party at Barneys in fall of 2006, wearing a green-and navy plaid jacket, but there are no other pictures of the pieces to be found. All I can say is so far, so glam.

Elizabeth and James on the other hand, is the twins’ much more contemporary line named after their younger sister, Elizabeth and older brother, James. The line is designed specifically for individuals “in their early 20’s, figuring out life and just experimenting,” The clothes are to be sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Intermix. Prices will range from $40 for a sweater to $452 for a dress.

“We wanted it to be based on a relationship between a young girl and a boy and to tell the story through clothing,” said Mary-Kate and Ashley of their clothing line in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily.

While you may not be able to afford the couture prices of The Row, I recommend keeping watch out for Elizabeth and James. I can see it becoming a household name.

 Another set of sisters have been busily at work on their also, very new, very fabulous line. Penelope and Monica Cruz are creating quite a buzz in their home country, Spain with their new self-titled label, featured in Mango stores out just in time for fall. While the 25 item range featuring jeans, sweaters, t-shirts, and accessories has already been released in Ibiza, Spain, it is set to make its formal debut September 16th.

“We wanted to recreate items that we really like, many of them vintage, that we have always wanted to wear and which we have now with this collection,” said Cruz at the Mango Press Conference in Ibiza. The sisters are also set to appear in Mango’s fall 2007 ad campaign.

In addition to the growth in popularity of celebrity brand names, affordable celebrity brand names are on the rise making it significantly more affordable for us college-aged fashionistas to look great…well, at least they are trying.

Joining Madonna for H&M, and Sarah Jessica Parker’s new Bitten for Steve and Barry’s comes Amanda Bynes’ new line Dear, also in partnership for Steve and Barry’s. Her line, like SJP’s does not reflect the star’s own unique taste, but features a lot of striped knit shirts and a couple pieces of decent denim. Steve and/or Barry seem to enjoy this look, but I think the beautiful Bynes can do much better. Sarah Jessica is one thing, but I’m not going to be rushing to Steve and Barry’s for knits anytime soon. Sorry Dear.

Hollywood seems to have its fingerprints on everything these days and celebrities have been dictating trends to the rest of the world for generations. Are they just now figuring this out? This new trend in celebrity designers has been a long time coming, and I think they just might be on to something. I personally, cannot wait to see more!

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