Celebrities and fashion have been inextricably linked for many years. You only have to think of classics, like the Hermes Kelly Bag to conjure up crystal clear images of a blonde and beautiful Grace Kelly, for example.
And so it has come to pass that these days any major fashion brand worth its salt, places its product with influential and beautiful well-known people from industries outside of fashion in order to compel ordinary punters to buy these products, fuelled by the celebrity endorsement.
Across the globe you have icons like David Beckham (sport), new US first lady in waiting Michelle Obama (politics/law), Dita von Teese (entertainer/stripper), Scarlett Johansson (actor) and Kanye West (rapper) able to shift hundreds of thousands of units of a fashion item simply because they have been seen to wear it.
Here in SA, the fashion designers are starting to move in a similar direction, with varying degrees of success. This week I take a look at the hits and the misses, as well as some suggested tie ups that I think would make a difference for both fashion and the celebrity, moving forward.
Celebrity fashion that works
There are many winners and losers in this game, but I'm going to select the two of each that interest me the most. First, let's cast our eyes northwards to the leafy suburb of Rosebank where a store called Ama Kip Kip spawned a generation of t-shirts that have become iconic among the entrepreneurial black youth of South Africa. And a few aspiring white ones too.
With almost no advertising at all, this store became a brand thanks to the cult status of their stark black t-shirts with their brand emblazoned on the front in glittering metallic colours. Although you can buy them now, the initial run of t-shirts was designed simply to promote the shop.
A great deal of the success of the brand can be attributed, therefore, to the people who they chose to give the t-shirts to in the first instance as promotional items.
Lesley Mampe from the music group Jozi and the three brothers from pennywhistle group Kewla Tebse are all great looking, talented and cool blokes from the world of music. They chose to identify themselves with the brand so closely, that they are now brand ambassadors for the two guys who started Ama Kip Kip in the first place, Siyabonga Ngwekazi and Nkosana Modise.
This is a great combination of style, music and celebrity, one that has seen all parties raise their profile as a result. And now Ama Kip Kip t-shirts have become collectors' items and are soon to spread their wings out of Joburg and head down to the coast.
The second combination that I think is almost perfect is another musical pairing. African jazz maestro Jimmy Dludlu has leant his considerable cool to the old-school SA-Italian label, Fabiani.
Not only does he wear the clothes, but he walks out for them at the fashion shows and features in their collateral and window displays.
This all-in relationship is based on a genuine love for the label as well as a mutual respect between the parties. This is definitely when arrangements such as these are at their most successful. And as Jimmy is one of GQ South Africa's 50 best dressed men of the year for 2008, there is no doubt that this partnership is a successful one.
And those that don't
For every partnership that works, there are a whole lot that don't for a variety of reasons. Mostly this is either down to the mismatch between the celebrity and the label or because the celebrity loses their status as an influence among the target customers (Lindsay Lohan, anyone?)
In South Africa we have a habit of making celebrities out of TV presenters and previous winners of Miss South Africa. What works so well with the two relationships detailed above is the increasing development and enjoyment of the music these celebrities produce each year, combined with the twice yearly collections of clothing people want to wear. When you have an absence of a defined career trajectory that will last for more than a year, when the person becomes famous simply for being famous, the relationship can become unsuccessful very quickly.
In addition, these types of celebrities are generally styled from head to foot for their public appearances. What this can result in is an absence of authentic personal style, one that can resonate with a target customer for the clothing. There are definitely exceptions to this, but for the most part, these are not partnerships with built in longevity and broad appeal.
The other combination that I want to challenge is the relationship between Carducci and its brand ambassadors. I am such a fan of their latest collection. I think that it is exciting, vibrant, stylish, timeless, challenging and great fun, as well as being beautifully crafted and poised to allow the brand to stage a resurgence with the stylish of South Africa.
So, with all respect to the ambassadors themselves, why would Carducci choose soap actors and news readers to promote the brand? How exciting and charismatic should you be as a prime time news reader? It is when there's a disconnect like this, that all the effort made to build the brand, can ultimately hurt it in the end. This, particularly with a brand like Carducci with so much current possibility, is a very sad occurrence.
So smarty pants, what would you suggest?
Being a big mouth means that I need to make some constructive suggestions, so I'll start with some pointers for the great Carducci folks.
For the guys, you need to look to the best looking South African comedian you can find. Someone with profile and personality would be perfect — think Trevor Noah or Mark Lottering to start with. These are astute men with bags of style and great talent. They are brave enough to take the most vibrant of your collection, and carry it off with aplomb.
For the ladies, there is more of a timeless elegance to the collection and so I would look at ladies with old-world carriage and charm, like actress Jenna Dover or singer Louise Carver. The ladies have impeccable manners and deportment, as well as a rocking sense of humour that shows up in their eyes.
There's no question that young emerging men's wear labels should be looking to dress the rock ‘n roll kings of the SA music scene. With Stiaan Louw and Ben Sherman already having snapped up the all-new styled and now very sharp Jeremy De Tolly, singer of the Dirty Skirts, I would love to see Greg Carlin from Zebra and Giraffe become more refined. Hugo Boss Red Label would be ideal for an edgy yet razor sharp look for him.
The gorgeous Nicky Greenwall would be my first choice for Heni Este Hijzen as she is a classic beauty but with a fiercely ambitious rebel undertone.
Terry Pheto looked amazing in Thula Sindi recently, but I would push it further and introduce more intelligent and talented ladies from the acting world — possibly looking exclusively at the over 30 age group for his gorgeous creations.
I see Randall Abrahams in Hugo Boss Black Label — classic and austere, with a hint of money about it.
I see Inge Beckmann in Abigail Betz for day and Gavin Rajah for evening functions — all mixed up with her own brand of vintage and quirky.
And I see Shaun Morgan from Seether cleaning it up just a bit and rocking out in good old fashioned Cape Union Mart and Levis for his off-stage day look. Wouldn't that be fun to see?
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