Are celebrity fashion lines worth the hype?

On 13th February, rapper Kanye West launched the third season of his fashion line, Yeezy to a packed audience at Madison Square Gardens for New York Fashion Week. The audience consisted of the Kardarshian/Jenner clan on one scale of the celebrity world and Anna Wintour on the other. It has been quite an entrance for West who has been vocal for his need to be accepted into an establishment known for it’s exclusivity. As the first male musician to break into women’s wear, Kanye West’s belief that he has a great deal to offer the fashion world has created a buzz that had to be matched up by the product released.

It ended up being a triumph for the social media age. It showed the ability of buzz on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook to be create a large following for a fashion campaign or collection. Prior to the show, pictures of pieces from the collection were released by Kanye West whilst a leaked picture of instructions for the models was placed on Twitter. Social media also played a big part with the show streaming live on Tidal to millions who could not get tickets to the show.

One can understand the direction which Kanye West has decided his line will take with its athletic build in a neutral post apocalyptic theme. However, the collection with the simple and basic style did little to revolutionise the fashion world. The collection is made up of leggings, bodysuits, sweatshirts, tights and boots with a neutral colour palette. It garnered a few less than favourable reviews from fashion editors and critics.

Eric Wilson of InStyle remarked that “(West) did not move the needle one bit in terms of fashion, at least not as fashion relates to the notion of creating new designs”. Robin Givhan of the Washington Post stated that “there was nothing particularly ground-breaking about his aesthetic and there is nothing about it that leaves one breathless with desire”.

It seems that what fashion critics were looking for was for West to break the mould and deliver on his promises of shaking up the fashion industry with his designs. What ended up getting the good reviews was the first play of his new album ‘The Life of Pablo’ which Kanye West played off a laptop collection that was on display. Despite the reviews, fans will clamour for the line and will camp out in their droves to buy the collection.

Whether it be a full blown line or a one off capsule collection for a brand, celebrity collections are big business. The celebrity has already acquired a large following making it easier for the clothes to fly off the shelf. Another celebrity to enter the fashion business is Rihanna who shortly after Kanye West’s display at Madison Square Gardens, showed us that she could be creative. Rihanna is known for taking risks with her personal style so it was hoped that she would do the same with her collection.

Taking the helm as creative director for Puma with her Fenty line, Rihanna provided us with thigh high boots, long cut out dresses and oversized coats and sweaters which was ever so slightly reminiscent of KTZ. It was a gothic, monochromatic mood with shapeless silhouettes all set on the runway. It was a good start as the clothes are not only sartorially pleasing but also wearable with flair in the style. If Rihanna continues to be at the helm, it is possible that the line could grow at dizzy heights given its first collection.

For both shows, there should be widespread praise for the use of diverse models. Yeezy 3 was helmed by Naomi Campbell with Alek Wek and Liya Kebede whilst Rihanna used a diverse host of models including Gigi and Bella Hadid for good supermodel measure. At a time when there are still complaints about the lack of diversity on the runway, both shows have given models of colour a good platform.

When we look at true success of the celebrity fashion brands, the winner has always been Victoria Beckham. She emerged as the not quite the best singer in Spice Girls who was married to David Beckham. It initially seemed that she would be just another celebrity designer, but since her launch in 2008, Beckham has seen great success for her line. Over the years, what she has shown is a true success story on how to start a covetable fashion line as a celebrity which is fresh and innovative. Victoria Beckham is adored by fashion critics and has celebrities such as Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway and Kate Winslet wearing her garms. Another brand that is quite simple in its style, Beckham plays with tried and tested silhouettes such as the body con dress making it cool, chic and in-demand.

As those two shows from Kanye West and Rihanna are done and the reviews continue to pour in, we can tell that they have been received quite differently. There will always be singers who during a successful career will want to move in the fashion industry. There is always space for them but what some of these examples does show is that these fashion lines are held up to a high level of scrutiny if they choose to enter this exclusive world and the designers cannot rely on their previous laurels. There is quite a lot more to prove because they have easily entered a world that many jump hoops to get into. To break the mould, one needs to take note from other designers - even if there is no ground breaking innovation, an understanding of the industry, design and creating wearable items is a must. The hype will follow.