Fast fashion

Madonna has done it. Bono is doing it. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs did it, and when his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, finally did it, it became de rigueur. The latest trend among celebrities, along with the raw food diet and kabbalah, is to step into the fashion world, not as models, muses or front-row fixtures, but as designers themselves. "All hell broke loose when Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Ryan Seacrest and Pamela Anderson debuted their new lines on the same day," says David Wolfe, laughing as he recalls his February trip to MAGIC, the biannual clothing and accessories trade show in Las Vegas. "These jaded retailers were falling over themselves to get a glimpse of the celebrity or to get an autograph for their kids." The garments didn't impress Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a fashion merchandising and consulting firm in New York. "No-talent celebrities who ‘became' designers -- the clothes are for peasants," he scoffed.

Instead of a pedestrian trade show, Jennifer Lopez chose New York's prestigious Fashion Week to launch her newest label, Sweetface. The Hispanic singer was the only celebrity "designer" on the roster in a week packed with 66 runway shows featuring established U.S. names such as Vera Wang and Kenneth Cole. And even though J.Lo reportedly didn't do the sketches or cut fabric, her presence at North America's most influential style event highlighted the fact that she is her generation's top brand. "Nobody is kidding himself or herself thinking that Jennifer Lopez sat in a closet somewhere frantically sewing," says Fern Mallis,
executive director and vice-president of IMG, the marketing and entertainment firm behind Fashion Week in New York and L.A. "But it's an interesting and unique moment in our culture. The gates have been opened and we're not going to see the end of this trend for some time."

While it's definitely hot now, celebrities have been dabbling in fashion for decades. Perhaps one of the first stars with a label was tennis legend Jean René Lacoste, whose famous alligator-logo shirts, which debuted in 1933, are enjoying a renaissance. Jack Nicklaus lent his name to golf apparel in the '60s, and in 1985 Jaclyn Smith introduced her casual-wear line at Kmart. As for the roots of the current craze, industry veterans talk about two men: music mogul Russell Simmons, who launched the hip hop line Phat Farm in 1992; followed by Combs in 1998, with his Sean John label. Then J.Lo introduced her line of belly-baring threads in 2001, and the fashion floodgates opened wide. Since then, more than 40 names -- including Elizabeth Hurley, Jessica Simpson and Gwen Stefani -- have left their perches along the catwalk to launch collections. One of the few high-profile celebs to buck the trend is Sketchers spokesmodel Christina Aguilera. "I just think it's so tacky," she reportedly said. "I have always thought that [having a clothing line] is one of those things that just makes people look like they don't know what to do any more."

Aguilera may not be entering the rag trade, but in the future, every A-, B- and C-list star will be expected to develop a brand, predicts Adriane Jamison, an L.A.-based celebrity stylist who has worked with Usher and OutKast. "You're going to have an album, a book deal, cameos on TV shows, a movie, perfume and accessories and now a clothing line." Shelly O'Neill, CEO of Rootz Media, a PR and marketing agency in L.A., agrees, adding it comes down to basic economics. "Not every star is going to stay on top forever, so they need to make as much money as they can while they're on top."

And just how much money is out there to tap into? According to Charles Riotto, president of the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association, celebrity-licensed fashion products accounted for US$15.5 billion in retail sales in the United States -- out of US$307 billion spent on shoes and clothing in 2003.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Mazur/wireimage.com</i>