Nicole Richie to Design Handbags; Designer Brands Bite Back

How much does it take to craft a handbag – or any piece of fashion, for that matter? With the amount of celebrity clothing brands popping up, you’d think it only takes some basic styling and drawing (maybe) skills. Nicole Richie, star of The Simple Life, is the latest celebrity to be developing a fashion line. Adding her House of Harlow 1960 brand, Richie will be designing a series of handbags. Known for her style and friendship with Paris Hilton, Richie is a moderate fashion icon. While her looks are somewhat inspiring but not truly unique, who knows what her handbag line will look like? Maybe it will be as successful as Paris’ perfume line.

But, while a celebrity designing a fashion line isn’t really news, the fact that designers want to take back their craft is. According to this recent news story, various designer houses, such as Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, and Viktor & Rolf, are “declaring war” on celebrity brands. Part of their campaign against celebrities usurping their market involves vocal disproval of recent fashion lines by Madonna, Kate Moss, and Lindsay Lohan.

Wait, Madonna? Didn’t she just start an ad campaign for her Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses line, MDG?

Nevertheless, Madonna isn’t the prime example of a celebrity fashion fail. The fashion advice given by Lindsay Lohan appeared to sink Ungaro even further. With club wear-inspired clothing that appeared to be designed by strippers, Ungaro’s collaboration with Lindsay Lohan experienced many negative reviews and is the ultimate example of why celebrities need to stay out of fashion.

Aside from essentially bad-mouthing celebrities turned designers, these labels will be showing off their craftsmanship as part of their campaign to attract more customers. According to the article above, this will be through ads for their clothing depicting the designing and creation process behind fashion – showing that it’s more of an art form – and, in some cases, similar demonstrations will be held in prominent stores.