I almost puked when I saw the cover of the new Lucky. Mandy Moore: star designer! I'm sooooooooo tired of celebrities pretending that they can design clothes. Mandy Moore in particular doesn't even really bother me, beause all she does is T-shirts, and anyone can design T-shirts. It's more the Gwen Stefanis and J-Los that I object to, and I'm tired of the magazines kissing their asses.
I think mostly I'm just really tired of celebrities getting credit for talent they don't actually have, whether that's designing or singing or whatever. Venus Williams is a stunningly gifted tennis player, why does she have to pretend she is an interior designer, too? Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff are successful actresses but we all know they are no singers, so why do we have to be tortured with heavily pitch-corrected albums? And Mandy Moore is a really cute girl who can sing reasonably well, and it is possible that one day she may be able to act, but let's just leave it at that, shall we?
I think it just shows how celeb-driven our culture is. It's interesting how in the old days people like DVF were vaguely out there, but didn't become big until they made clothing, but now you become big, then you make lots of clothing.
Or perfume, which also sort of troubles me. I like the fact that a perfume smells nice- not that JLo, Sarah Jessica Parker or Britney made it :)
yea, i hate how celebrity driven everything is- i totally buy into it! i would have to run away to a deserted island to keep myself from thumbing through tabloids! Its such a guilty pleasure of mine that i should stop because it ultimately ends up with me comparing my life to theirs and thinking mine isn't fabulous enough, money is so important, etc etc. Ugh. I am ok with celeb designers when they are kind of on the DL (milla jovovich- jovovich-hawk for example) but the p. diddy's - oops, diddy's, and j. lo's of the designing world really get on my nerves, even if the clothing looks alright.
Lets not forget the many things that both paris hilton (book, movies, show, singing etc...) and nicole riche (singing?) are doing. I am just waiting for one of them to launch a clothing line also.
it doesn't really bother me that much. well i do get annoyed by the free publicity they get for their clothes when a lot of indie designers have to work really hard for a really long time before they get noticed.
other than that i don't have a problem with it. people have lots of different interests and if they have the opportunity to explore all their interests (even if it's due to celebrity) than more power to them. buyers will decide what they want. personally i like clothes. if someone makes something cute i don't care if it's j-lo or the random guy on the corner, if i like it, i'll buy it.
I'm not too sure if celebrities actually put together those perfumes. I'm sure they just say what they would like it to smell like, approve the scent and it's made and their names are stuck on it to sell. Oh, and the Mandy Moore t shirts. She said something about rocker style t's under blazers. Isn't that so first season of what's that guys name, the host of American Idol? I didn't think people were still doing that look. I thought Mandy's shirts were too expensive for what they were.
I'm a little torn on this issue. I think that if I were a celebrity, given that I have a vast array of artistic and design related interests (including fashion and jewelry), I would try to do as many of those as possible. Why not? If you have the interest and the talent, I say go for it. It really comes down to being a savvy business person to try to expand your empire (so to speak). If you truly are multi-talented, then why not capitalize on it?
What bugs me is talentless celebs or those who aren't 'triple threats' trying to do the acting, singing, dancing and oh, by way, 'i-have-t-shirt/jewelry/clothing-line-coming-out-this-fall-too' kind of thing. Granted there are some celebs that are multi-talented, but there are also a bunch that aren't and should just stick with what made them famous in the first place.
As for Many Moore on the cover of Lucky. Eh, whatever. I thought the skirt she had on was adorable and the t-shirt was okay. I liked the color combo (of course!).
I don't really have a problem with Mandy Moore or her clothing line. It seems to me, from what I've heard, that she's pretty involved in making the designs and they're clothes that she actually wears. The people I have a problem with are people like Jessica Simpson, Nicky Hilton, and Hillary Duff, who have their own lines, but you know won't be caught dead in those clothes. From what I've read about them, they basically have someone else design the clothes and run the line by the celeb who gives their okay.
Slightly off topic--Nicky Hilton's line, to me, is the worst offender of all. Her clothes aren't cute, they're WAY over priced, and they don't seem to reflect her own sense of style at all.
I was under the impression that most star "designers" have little to no input about how their lines of jewelry/clothes/shoes look. (and I agree with NCshopper that a lot of the celebs wouldn't be caught dead in the stuff). I see it as a marketing ploy - create something that is mediocre at best, then slap the name "Sarah Jessica Parker" on it, mark the price up, and hope it sells. To be honest, I saw some wedges by J. Lo (they were called "velocity, I think) that I actually liked.
I think a lot of the younger celebs, i.e. Britney, Hilary Duff, etc. have lines that are aimed at preteens/young teenagers because they are more likely to want something because of the name as opposed to whether or not they like how it looks.
I don't really have a problem with Mandy Moore or her clothing line. It seems to me, from what I've heard, that she's pretty involved in making the designs and they're clothes that she actually wears. The people I have a problem with are people like Jessica Simpson, Nicky Hilton, and Hillary Duff, who have their own lines, but you know won't be caught dead in those clothes. From what I've read about them, they basically have someone else design the clothes and run the line by the celeb who gives their okay.
ITA. I really don't have a problem with Mandy as a designer since from what I've heard, she came up with Mblem when she didn't have t-shirts long enough to fit her torso. If I was nearly 6 feet tall and couldn't find a cute layering shirt that didn't show my belly button, I'd probably set out and make my own too.
To be honest, I saw some wedges by J. Lo (they were called "velocity, I think) that I actually liked. I think a lot of the younger celebs, i.e. Britney, Hilary Duff, etc. have lines that are aimed at preteens/young teenagers because they are more likely to want something because of the name as opposed to whether or not they like how it looks.
i actually am on the hunt for those j.lo wedges in red. i think they were in a lucky mag from a few issues ago. instead of immediatly hunting for them i assumed they would still have them in red. no luck only colors left at nordies and zappos are a little too disco queen for me. purple and gold velvet. . .blah i am not channeling diana ross circa 1976.
ejc423 wrote: honey wrote: however, tory birch really bothers me. Ew, me too! And I have no reason other than she just seems so snooty! Well that and I don't like many of her clothes.
there are three star designers i like. gwen's line lamb (actually really well done vintage street style very comprehensive look), puffy's line (the high end version not the crap with his name all over it) and j. simpsons line (i can't wait to see it, it will either be as sexy trendy as she is or some crap that is the clothing version of her dessert line. . .blech!). the rest is bull. . .although recently j. lo has been pretty good with the shoe thing.
here is what i say to celeb designers. good for you you can wear designer clothes that a stylist picks out that the designer gives you for free that are perfectly altered to your body and that are the latest in thing but that does not make you a designer. however if i HAPPEN to like something you make i'll buy it because i like it not because you have your name on it.
This doesn't really bother me. While a lot of the time I think it's dumb, if people would buy shit I slapped my name on I'd try to make a couple million too. Also, I do think that for the plethora of celebrities that are just in it for the money, there are a few who really do care about their side projects.
I think it is just a pet peeve because I am in design and I know that real design means studying, researching, refining, revising, and generally working your ass off, so I am protective of it--to the point, I readily admit, of being kinda holier-than-thou. I don't even know why I am so prickly about it--I am in interior design and there are no celebs (other than Venus) who dabble in it. I know the fashion lines are just opportunistic money-making ploys. I guess what I don't like is when the idea of the "designer" reflects back on the celebrity, know what I mean? I have no problem with people using their name to sell clothes, but when they then get credit for the creativity that went into MAKING the clothes, that is what gets on my nerves. Obviously there are a ton of well-known designers who license their name to a gabillion different products, but in their case, at least the brand empire was born out of an original line which was born out of the designer's creativity as opposed to the "designer's" fame.
OK, rant over. Really this is all procrastination so I can avoid doing my design homework.
I'm a little torn on this issue. I think that if I were a celebrity, given that I have a vast array of artistic and design related interests (including fashion and jewelry), I would try to do as many of those as possible. Why not? If you have the interest and the talent, I say go for it. It really comes down to being a savvy business person to try to expand your empire (so to speak). If you truly are multi-talented, then why not capitalize on it?
Yeah, I remember thinking that if I were a celebrity I'd like to design my own line of clothes for teens (modest, but not stuffy).. Then again I agree that they're getting too much publicity for nothing. I remember reading an article about Jessica Simpson's clothing line and basicly what she does is someone designs it, and she picks out what she likes. ?! That's all she does. No wonder she can take up so many things, because she doesn't do them.