By Tom Ryan
Joining a parade of celebrities with their own fashion lines, Madonna last week launched her highly anticipated "M by Madonna" collection at fast-fashion Swedish retailer, H&M (Hennes & Mauritz).
Heralding its significance, Women's Wear Daily ran a three page article detailing the legions of fans lining up in the darkness of the early morning hours outside stores from Berlin to Los Angeles for last Thursday's launch.
"There is going to be lots of interest for Madonna's collection, but it will also contribute to more interest in H&M in general," Stefan Stjernholm, analyst at Swedbank, told Reuters.
Celebrity endorsements aren't new in the fashion world. Golfer Arnold Palmer is credited with launching the trend by licensing his name in the 1970s for a line of golf clothing. Actress Jaclyn Smith, of Charlie's Angel's fame, followed suit in the mid-eighties with a line of women's clothing for Kmart. In fragrances, Elizabeth Taylor's "White Diamonds" has sold more than $1 billion since its launch 15 years ago.
Typically, though, it was the "washed up" celebrity licensing his or her name to make some money. Today, launching a fashion line has become a "statement" for celebrities. Moreover, some of the recent ones have been wildly successful.
The biggest have come from the hip hop world. Brands from rappers or urban producers - particularly Sean John, Rocawear and Phat Farm - have recast the men's collection area at department stores. For the women's market, collections from singer/actress Jennifer Lopez as well as pop singer Gwen Stefani have become big winners for department stores. A children's line from the Full House twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, has become a huge hit for Wal-Mart.
These successes have led to a flood of lines from other celebrities, including Beyoncé Knowles, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Osbourne, Mandy Moore, Bono, and Justin Timberlake. Hillary Duff last year launched an exclusive tweens collection for Target.
For the consumer, demand for star-spun fashion has been increasing with people's growing appetite for celebrities and celebrities' lifestyles.
Marshall Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, said consumers will pay up to 25 percent more for celebrity branded products. "Celebrity business has grown in the past decade tenfold," Mr. Cohen recently told CBS News. "Years ago, there was less than 100 celebrity brands in a multitude of different industries. Today, there are well over 1,000 brands that have celebrity ownership and/or partnerships that cross all kinds of industries."
Not many celebrity launches, however, get the red carpet treatment. According to NPD, most celeb lines only last two years.
Problems frequently surface. For instance, Jessica Simpson was recently sued by her line's manufacturer, Tarrant Apparel Group, for $100 million after she told an interviewer her favorite jeans were True Religion rather than her budget collection, Princy.
And many feel the cache of celebrity brands will become diluted as more reach the market. (In just women's fragrance, celeb brands include Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Hillary Duff, Sean John, Daniel Steel, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.)
But celeb lines keep coming. Besides Madonna, highly anticipated clothing lines are due this year from waif supermodel Kate Moss and British actress Sienna Miller. And former Sex and the City star Jessica Parker last week announced plans to launch her own clothing line at discounter Steve & Barry's.
"Every year I think we're saturated," Claire Brooks, president of brand consulting company ModelPeople Inc., told The Washington Post. "And every year it gets worse and worse."
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the trend toward celebrity fashion lines? What does this say about the American consumer? What are the opportunities and risks for retailers exploring celebrity collections?