Celebrity clothing lines run amok

As Wisconsin’s temperature continues to plunge, it is hard to contemplate summer fashions let alone the looks for fall. However, for the fast paced apparel industry, developing trends for New York’s Olympus Fashion Week took center stage earlier this month. The world’s leading designers enticed the fashion elite - a crowd comprised of celebrities, editors, buyers, and socialites – by introducing the hottest creations for fall 2005.

An old concept in an increasingly saturated market, celebrity designs stole the limelight this year. The overwhelming buzz drew the crowd’s attention, leaving them at the edge of their seats, anxious for more.

Instead of sitting in the front row this year, fashion diva Jennifer Lopez displayed her debut upscale clothing line, Sweetface, in the midst of new and old designers alike. Utilizing leather, fur, and metallic detail to accent shorter than short sweaters, high denim pants and chiffon dresses sparked a craze. This daring blend of materials and not so ordinary look suggested that “Jenny from the Block” didn’t mind diverging from the norm or leaving the middle-class Bronx block. The staple names of yesteryear like Ralph, Calvin, and Donna need not worry about getting lost in the star shuffle, so stay calm guys and girls. J. Lo’s line took the form of pure amateur quality, fitting for any pop-star wannabe.

As Gwen Stefani, Beyonce Knowles, and Lil’ Kim set out to make fashion history, one can’t help but wonder about the industry’s future. What happened to years of dedication and expertise in the field? With the snap of a finger or blink of an eye, any celebrity can muster up a clothing line. It makes perfect sense – stars in the spotlight can take full advantage of their status and rake in on clothing lines stamped with their name on them. We can’t actually be the star, but now we are able to look like one.

P. Diddy has profited astronomically with his surprisingly successful Sean John men’s line, receiving accolades in both the fashion and entertainment businesses along with countless devoted fans. With his women's line in the woodworks, he recently ascertained that this new project is a difficult feat, proving that the skill behind fashion is not rooted in the power of a status-worthy name.

As New York Fall Fashion Week approached its finale, every fashionista had the opportunity to digest the runway insanity, catch up with their favorite big name designer and redefine what fashion means to them for the current moment. The worlds of fashion and entertainment are colliding like never before. Fame is bringing style to a new and perhaps frightening extreme. Could Jessica Simpson be the next style savvy pop-star setting frenzy on the runway? Or rather, could Avril Lavigne influence her unique punk flavor to dominate the catwalk? The destiny of the once known haute couture fashion business may leave you shakin’ in your stilettos or trippin’ over chains depending upon which new celebutante uses their name to cash in on the runway.