August 2008

Tara Reid's MANTRA

Tara Reid has been critised for being a party girl and she has been frowned upon for accepting small amounts of appearance money for some events but nobody cared to mention that this girl has been struggling for a while to get regular work. So, what do you when Hollywood stops calling? You become a fashion designer. Tara got fed up with her lack of job offers and decided to focus her energy on Mantra, her very own clothing line. The collection includes swimsuits and casualwear decorated with coloured beads and charms. Every piece has a special bead and its colour signifies something. Red is for love, pink is for friendship, green is for luck and black is for protection. She launched the label in Las Vegas on Monday, 25 August, 2008 and if you'd like to find out more information, go to Mantra by Tara Reid but be patient as there is not much there yet.

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Carla Zampatti Wins Australian Fashion Laureate 2008

The Australian Fashion Laureate 2008 has been awarded to fashion designer, Carla Zampatti. The award is given to an individual in the Australian fashion industry who has made a significant contribution in the growth, development and promotion of the Australian fashion industry. The candidates must carry out their work within Australia and the award is not limited to designers.

Zampatti migrated from Italy to Australia as a child and launched her label in 1965. She currently owns a retail chain of 30 stores (incl. concept stores) across the country. She is also chairwoman of SBS.

The event took place at the Heritage Ballroom of the Westin Hotel Sydney and she accepted the award from Akira Isogawa who was last year's winner.

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When You Just Don't Cut It

Larry King wearing a pair of Ed Hardy shoes

Barbara Walters wearing an Ed Hardy hoodie on The View

What do you do when those who don't fit your image are wearing your gear? I'm referring to Larry King who was spotted - not for the first time - wearing a pair of Ed Hardy shoes while having coffee at Rodeo Drive and Barbara Walters who appeared in one of their hoodie tops on The View. Christian Audigier (the designer) is happy to bonjour everyone and hand out freebies to many celebrities but what happens when people don't fit the look? Would it damage the image of the brand?

Ed Hardy is a contemporary street wear label (they call it tattoo wear) that has mainly focussed on a youthful target market. We are used to seeing pictures of Paris, Beckham and Ronaldo in Ed Hardy as opposed to demure journalists of a certain age. It's been a highly successful brand over the last few years but could the wrong image affect its performance? Would younsters feel that the line is not cool anymore or would they simply - like Audigier - not be bothered? Burberry, on the other hand, are extremely bothered. If you're not Burberry material, they want you to pack it up and move it elsewhere. That is, your cash. According to recent articles, if you don't have the look, they don't want your money.

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