When an artist’s brand knocks it out of the park: L.A.M.B... a flirty rocker label

In 2003, Gwen Stefani, the famous singer and vocalist of the band No Doubt, launched her own clothing line named after her debut solo album, L.A.M.B. (Love.Angel.Music.Baby).  This brand makes not only apparel, but also handbags, shoes, accessories and fragrances with a strong influence of different fashion cultures, such as Japanese, Indian, and Jamaican.

Gwen’s passion for fashion began with her music career.  In fact, she used to design and sew most of the clothes she wore in No Doubt’s concerts. Her enthusiasm increased after she met stylist Andrea Lieberman, who introduced her to haute couture and became her fashion consultant.  But Stefani decided to create her own fashion line and named Saldy Goco as the head designer.

Today the success of the brand is undeniable. It is sold in 275 stores worldwide with a gross income of $90 million.  It is worn by celebrities such as Tery Hatcher, Nicole Kidman and Kelly Ripa, and it is well received by fashion critics. 

But what is it that made this brand successful??? Was the celebrity behind it all???  It doesn’t seem like it for this blogger. I say this for many reasons. First, Mrs Stefani’s undisputable love for fashion and fashion sense. But for me, the most important reason is her brand concept planning. She took the launch of L.A.M.B. very seriously, taking a whole year between the creation of the brand (2003) and its first collection (2004). Also, she hired a respectable designer and decided to set higher quality standards than most of the other celebrities’ collaborations.

Check out what Gwen was wearing for the Festival de Cannes… a custom L.A.M.B. dress

But anyway (even if it is hard for me to accept it), her image plays a huge roll in the brand….or not?  What do you pretty people think???

Are celebrity designers always a success?... Apparently Not!

With so many Hollywood stars collaborating with fashion brands or making their own fashion brand, fashion critics and this blogger here see some as a joke.  Examples of these celebrity fashion brands that are laughed at are House of Dereon and Lauren Conrad. 

The Knowles Family Affair began in 2004, when Beyonce and her mother and stylist, Tina Knowles launched their fashion line House of Dereon.  The tagline used in ads is “Couture.Kick.Soul.”  Seems like people do not know the definition of couture anymore. 

Tina Knowles use to design and make Destiny’s Child’s costumes.  Does anyone remember what those costumes looked like?  Well here they are…

I think Beyonce and Tina don’t know the difference between designing a costume and designing a fashion brand.  Although there are those who buy clothing from this brand, it’s more of Beyonce’s fans who want to look like her, and not fashion lovers or followers.  Don’t get me wrong. Beyonce looks amazing in these clothes and her costumes on stage, but that is exactly what they are… COSTUMES!!!    

Now let’s take a look at Lauren Conrad...

She began on MTV’s reality show Laguna Beach, and then became the star of the reality show The Hills.  She studied fashion design in Los Angeles at FIDM.  After seeing what happened to Lauren Conrad you don’t just need a degree and fame to have a successful brand.  Hmmm, maybe what is needed is something called talent. 

She first began trying to sell just the plain tank tops of her line for $225.  Department stores, such as Bloomingdales, denied to sell such a simple line at those costs, so Lauren then dropped her prices and turned to Khol’s and sold the brand there.  But even dropping prices didn’t help.  Lauren had to stop production and close her line in 2009.  She blamed it on the “economic crisis,” and said she wanted to rethink her fashion line.  It was reported that she wants a more high-end fashion line with better quality fabrics.  Hellooooooo… wake up and smell the coffee… Lauren, your problem is not your fabrics, it’s YOU!!!  In 2010 she announced that she is working on a new line with some of her “best friends,” as in maybe her fake friends from The Hills.  Like that’s really going to help.

  

Welcome to Hollywood!

Made In Hollywood is a blog created with the goal to observe and follow the celebrities from the red carpets to fashion runways. With more and more stars launching their own fashion brands, how many of them truly accomplish creating a successful brand that is built under fame?