Celebrity Clothing Lines. Keeping Score

Make no mistake, we here at Second City Style think the celebrity designer trend has gotten completely out of hand. We wouldn’t be caught dead in most of it (although I am coveting a pair of L.A.M.B. booties right now). Makes you wonder what effect the current economy will have on these brands as disposable income for most dwindles. Today’s WWD did a fantastic synopsis of the state of pretty much every celeb brand on the market today. While we can’t post it in it’s entirety , there is a link at the bottom should you have a subscription. Here is the gist;

Love it or hate it, celebrity-hood seems to automatically segue into fashion design these days. Yet, who’s really holding their own at retail, especially given the ground-shaking economy?

But a big name doesn’t always mean big business — just ask ill-fated “designers” Scarlett Johansson, Mandy Moore and 50 Cent. Others like Serena and Venus Williams, who admittedly jibe each other about whose respective clothing line is better, have had their share of fits and starts. Ditto for Kelly Osbourne, who recently shared an uppity-ness about fashion that seems to be part of the celebrity package. “I’m not the kind of person who would just attach my name to a clothing line. That is not fashion. That’s making a quick buck,” she said. “And I don’t want a stinky perfume either. I would rather do something and do it right.” Big talk for someone whose Stiletto Killers line flopped.

Here is WWD’s  scorecard:

Gaining Ground

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
With three burgeoning lines — The Row, young designer apparel at Barneys New York; Elizabeth & James contemporary sportswear at Intermix, and marykateandashley apparel, accessories and lifestyle products at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. — the pair reportedly have a $1 billion business with Dualstar Entertainment Group. The twins are designing an Elizabeth & James fine jewelry line with Robert Lee Morris and men’s wear for The Row.

Beyonce Knowles
Mrs. Jay-Z’s House of Deréon is a label she started with her mother, Tina Knowles. Slow to get out of the gate despite all its hype, House of Deréon repositioned itself as an eveningwear line and launched Deréon junior sportswear, which has proved to be the bread-and-butter and will soon add costume jewelry.

Can we just add this is scary? This line is the worst!

Gwen Stefani
With baby number two in tow, the musician is onto the next project — designing uniforms for Rande Gerber’s Living Rooms at the W hotels. Her Harajuku Lovers young contemporary apparel and accessories are also going strong, according to retailers, as is her new Harajuku Lovers fragrance. The L.A.M.B. fragrance has an estimated $30 million in annual sales and Harajuku Lovers has already tripled that.

Pete Wentz
In his hometown of Chicago, his first store, Clandestine Industries, is reeling in customers eager to copy his onstage looks. Wentz has DKNY Jeans to thank for jump-starting his fashion career. Nordstrom has the exclusive this fall for the label’s wholesale.

Lauren Conrad
She may be a big star on “The Hills,” but Conrad is even more serious about fashion, claiming she’ll always be a designer even once the reality show ends. The year-old line is already a $4 million business. “The sell-throughs have been fantastic,” said Frank Doroff, vice chairman at Bloomingdale’s. “We got it in and sold out immediately. We can’t get the merchandise on the floor fast enough. It is, by far, the best-selling celebrity line we have. It’s so much better than I thought it would be.”

Hmmm. More on this line later…

Sienna Miller
Besides selling in Saks Fifth Avenue, Intermix and Henri Bendel, the Twenty8Twelve by s.miller label has its own store in the sister’s native London. “We’re constantly learning, not only aesthetically, but from the point of view of being a new business,” Savannah Miller said.

Justin Timberlake
The William Rast line founded with his boyhood friend Trace Ayala in 2005 was a flop — but since Timberlake hired pros Johan and Marcella Lindeberg as creative directors, things are getting on track.

Kimora Lee Simmons

Simmons is now in charge of all the lines at the company founded by her ex, Russell Simmons, who’s since left, ranging from Baby Phat to Fabulosity to Phat Farm. Baby Phat is sold in 3,500 doors.

Nelly

Apple Bottoms, the line he designed to make women’s posteriors look more attractive is doing well indeed. The company just launched Apple Bottoms Signature, higher-end premium jeans for $175 a pop. Apple Bottoms, which is sold in 3,500 doors, will also open 26 Macy’s shop-in-shops this year.

Kate Moss
The Topshop signature label is one of the retailer’s top performers. And after having sold in Barneys New York, Moss’ line will get even more visibility Stateside when Topshop opens a New York flagship in the spring.

Lance Armstrong
His latest winning streak appears to be Livestrong. The Nike-produced label features women’s, men’s and children’s apparel and footwear with all profits donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Launched last fall, the label sent a $2.5 million check its first season.

Holding Steady

Jessica Simpson

Paris Hilton

Victoria Beckham

Bono’s Edun

Jay-Z‘s Rocawear

Reba McEntire

Kathy Ireland

Losing Ground

Jennifer Lopez
After shuttering her justsweet label she now plans to bring her JLO by Jennifer Lopez brand back to the U.S. via e-tailing on shopjlo.com, while her Sweetface label is still kicking, too. Critics are skeptical she can make it work this time around, but with 25 freestanding JLO stores internationally and 13 more planned by the end of this year, she’s determined to do so.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Amanda Bynes and Venus Williams
All three have exclusives with Steve & Barry’s, which is just emerging from bankruptcy with new owners and is closing 103 stores. The chain’s financial woes prove that celebrity lines don’t necessarily mean huge volume, no matter how cheap the prices are.

Nicky Hilton
The heiress has shown her Nicholai by Nicky Hilton line on runways in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but to no avail. Macy’s Smith said, “It just didn’t work, we no longer carry it.” 

Sadie Frost
Jude Law’s ex designs FrostFrench ready-to-wear with fellow Londoner Jemima French. After serious financial woes with its British investor, the duo have formed a new firm with another investor, John Joakim, called FrostFrench London Retail Ltd., and are on the move again.

Just Out of the Gate

LL Cool J: LL Cool J Collection at Sears

Avril Lavigne: Abbey Dawn junior apparel, exclusively at Kohl’s.

Rachel Bilson: Edie Rose for DKNY Jeans junior sportswear.

Janet Jackson: Pleasure Principle lingerie

Kristin Davis: Kristin Davis better sportswear with Belk Inc.

Danity Kane: Girl band Danity Kane junior jeans, exclusively at Macy’s.

Trying Again

Sean “Diddy” Combs
While Diddy has been successful in men’s wear, women’s apparel has perennially been a stretch. Talks are under way with a few possible licensees for women’s apparel, while G-III continues to produce women’s outerwear. Surprisingly, Combs has had better luck in fragrances: Coty will launch a second women’s fragrance next year.

Eve
The rapper-actress is trying this year for the fourth time with another relaunch of Fetish young contemporary apparel. Arnold Williams is on board as design director to try to drum up $10 million in its first year back at retail, which seems like a stretch, given her past efforts.

Serena Williams
The U.S. Open champ made the rounds at fashion week, but it’s been a while since her pals Brandy and Kelly Rowland walked on her runway. Aneres eveningwear is only available in a few stores, but lingerie is reportedly in the works, as is a fragrance.

Rumor Has It

Michael Jackson; Amy Winehouse; Jonas Brothers; Patti LaBelle; Miley Cyrus

Can you imagine wearing Amy Winehouse crackwear?

Yikes! There’s More

Lou Doillon; Kim Gordon; Daisy Fuentes (exclusively at Kohl’s); Hilary Duff; Kelly Ripa; Sheryl Crow; Whitney Port; Jaime Pressly; Pamela Anderson; Jaclyn Smith (exclusively at Kmart); Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe; Travis Baker of Blink 182; Milla Jovovich; Queen Latifah; Charlie Sheen; Denise Richards; Heidi Montag (exclusively at Anchor Blue); Ashley Judd (exclusively at Goody’s); Christina Aguilera.

Done, Finished, Gone

Scarlett Johansson
What: Scarlett Hearts Rbk activewear.

Mandy Moore
What: Mblem contemporary sportswear

50 Cent
What: G-Unit apparel.

Read "The Celebrity Clothing Game" here

Source & Photos: WWD