Does Fame Equal Fortune?
March 28, 2008
Marie Green is a fashion stylist and writer from San Diego California. She is the Fashion Editor of FINE Homes and Living Magazine and her column, “Fashion Focus” has appeared in FINE Magazine as well as LaJolla Light, The Del Mar Times, Del Mar Ink, The Carmel Valley Leader, Rancho Santa Fe Record, and The Solana Beach Sun. Marie is also the co-founder of SheWants.com.
Does fame equal fortune? Meaning, if merchandise is seen on a celebrity, does that really turn into dollars for the company? That was the question of the evening when I attended Fashion Group International’s seminar at the renowned Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles this month. As a member of Fashion Group International (FGI), the preeminent authority of the business of fashion and design, I get invited to exciting fashion industry events. This fascinating two hour seminar featured an expert panel, which explored the concept of product placement on celebrities, red carpet and entertainment media.
What to do, how to get it and what to expect after the product receives publicity was discussed with the four member panel moderated by pop culture and style journalist Rose Apodaca. You may recognize her name as co-author of best selling lifestyle book, Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty and Everything Glamour, written with celebrity stylist, Rachel Zoe (my style guru). The panel consisted of fashion industry insiders Susan Ashbrook, founder of Film Fashion, George Blodwell, accomplished celebrity wardrobe stylist, Karen Bradshaw, production director for SeenOn.com, and Cameron Silver, owner of Decades on Melrose Avenue and contributor to many fashion magazines.
Celebrities are now getting incredible exposure due to the amount of weekly entertainment magazines. These magazines have brought fashion to the masses so everyone knows what the famous beautiful people are wearing now. Remember when Martha Stewart was released from prison wearing the now famous knit poncho? They sold over $500,000 worth of that poncho through e-commerce. Academy Award nominee Helen Mirren wore an exquisite dress by little known designer, Georges Chakra to this year’s Oscars and the next day his website got a record number of hits. This type of worldwide exposure will definitely turn into dollars as the dress is shown over and over in all of the weeklies even for years to come. For designers, having their goods seen on celebrities is so important that some are even paying the tastemakers to wear them. I guess it’s not enough just to get free clothes anymore-these big-timers are getting paid real money too. One of the panelists said Calvin Klein has been known to pay cash to wear his designs and Chopard, the venerable jeweler, gives Jaguars (yes, the cars) to those A-list celebs willing to wear their beautiful jewels and watches.
For designers just starting out, the chances of getting their merchandise on an A-list celebrity is pretty slim. Some suggest contributing goods to “gifting suites” at celebrity driven events such as award shows and premieres. The gifting suite is a space near the event filled with merchandise offered free of charge (swag) to invited celebrity guests. According to the panelists, when the whole idea of swag first started, no one but the celebrities and designers knew about it. Now the swag is famous-so famous that the A-listers or even B-listers rarely partake anymore. The caliber of celebrities actually visiting the suite is so far down it really doesn’t turn into dollars for the designers, therefore the panelists advise new designers NOT to do the gift suites. In lieu of this, they suggest sending products to magazine editors and/or sending a merchandise image book to a celebrity offering them a gift of their choosing from the book. The panel also suggested focusing on technology and being internet savvy, as well as excelling in customer service and efficiency. It is also important to build relationships while focusing on sales and being tuned in to current trends.
Following the discussion, we were given a tour of the Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition at the FIDM Museum and Galleries. The exhibition featured costumes from Atonement, Sweeney Todd, Enchanted, The Golden Compass and more. It was awesome to view costumes only seen before on the big screen. Following the tour, we took a walk through the Galleries for shopping-a perfect way to complete the evening.
INSIDE SCOOP: Spring is upon us and if you’ve been shopping lately, you know that translates to fresh new looks in fashion. I attended Fashion Week in New York last September, where they showcased the spring ’08 collections. Finally, six months later, these long-awaited collections have made it into the stores and are available to us fashionistas. See More Pictures »
