Cacey
I woke up this morning to find a tip in my inbox about the debut of a clothing line by a certain reality star happening today. Hint: She’s already had one and well, it kind of bombed. If you guessed Lauren Conrad, formerly of The Hills, well then I’m glad to know you’ve been keeping up on your gossip blogs. The line, LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl’s, was released today into stores – but without any considerable buzz.
The “California chic” line is a contrast in terms of pricing in comparison to her last line, which was sold in high-end stores like Kitson and Fred Segal. In fact, the priciest piece is a mere $60 and the line features all the trends we’ve seen in the past few months and probably will see in the fall – frilly tops, boyfriend blazers and skinny jeans. A bit of a yawn, but glad to know that Kohl’s is at least trying to keep things relevant with current trends, as well as boasting itself as a competitor to other discount retailers like Target.
I am curious as to why press releases weren’t flooding the internet-waves and the lack of buzz surrounding this. After all, it is fashion week, and granted that Ms. Conrad didn’t exactly have success with her higher-end line. But I would think Kohl’s would try and push for bigger hype, along the lines of Target and H&M’s designer collaborated campaigns, even though I’d hardly give Lauren Conrad the same credit as those big name designers (actually, I wouldn’t).
However, Kohl’s and Conrad both have the ability to build her line into something substantial, especially with her name on the label and the economic climate. Both of them could benefit and succeed if the proper marketing techniques and PR was executed. I don’t know if Lauren Conrad wanted to have a soft product launch because she was a bit embarrassed by the downgrade, but I don’t think she realizes the huge business potential she has with this line, even if it’s a lower-end one at Kohl’s.
- Sabina Ellahi
You can follow Sabina on Twitter @sellahi.
