LOS ANGELES — Gwen Stefani continues her assault on consumer culture with the rollout this month of her newest fashion enterprise, Harajuku Lovers: A Fatal Attraction to Cuteness.
The collection, for women, men, children and babies, was created in a licensed partnership with California-based manufacturer Jerry Leigh Entertainment. Editors in New York will get a preview of the line today.
“This is part of Gwen’s big fantasy,” Sara Scargall, design director at Jerry Leigh, who is collaborating on the line with the pop superstar, told WWD. “Gwen wants to give back to her fans. She wants everybody in the family to access this in terms of price points, silhouettes and categories.”
In fact, Harajuku Lovers is a response to what Stefani noted is a limited market for her successful designer contemporary collection, L.A.M.B., which she is taking to the New York runway during fashion week next month. Unlike L.A.M.B., and its co-branded products with LeSportsac and the new sneaker collection with Royal Elastics, Harajuku Lovers wholesales between $20 and about $45.
“Everything will retail for under $100,” said Scargall. “That was important to Gwen.”
Also key is that the line remain active, Scargall added, and everything be cut from supersoft grinded or enzyme-washed cotton and fleece. Edges are raw and hemlines extended to add to the slouchy, street-informed, borrowed-from-boyfriend look. That is, except for the six-style intimates line of panties, camis, bras and drawstring lounge pants. Denim, she noted, is nowhere on the drawing board.
The graphics and allover prints of the two first groups draw directly from this year’s hit songs and videos from Stefani’s platinum-selling solo effort “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” The “Tick Tock” group riffs on the “Alice in Wonderland” theme in the “Watcha Waitin’ For” video, while the “Banana” collection calls to mind her current chart-climber, “Hollaback Girl.”
From season to season, the line, Scargall noted repeatedly, “is lyrically inspired. In one song, Gwen sings about mixing and mismatching, and that’s what she wanted for the line.”
The Harajuku girls have become part of Stefani’s act, spilling into both her personal style and the fashion ventures.
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The line will begin trickling in at Urban Outfitters stores and select specialty boutiques such as Kitson in Los Angeles and Big Drop in New York in late August; full shipping to wider channels is targeted for a fall-holiday delivery.
Because of its initial limited distribution, Jerry Leigh chief operating officer Jeff Silver said it was difficult to project sales, although the company expects to do at least $2 million in the first season.
“We’re a large company with a lot of resources,” Silver said of the $200 million licensor, which produces lines for Disney to Nascar, “so we have the ability to take it where it has to go. And we will do it, but in the right, controlled way.”
Accessories, stationery and patches will follow. It’s only the start of a Harajuku Lovers world that already boasts a limited-edition digital camera.
Both the gwenstefani.com and harajuku-lovers.com sites feature animated snips of Stefani’s universe of Japanese flavor-meets-fairy tale cuteness, including a map of a fictional Harajuku District dotted with hearts, each designated as a different merchandise or information link.
The concept clearly trades on the whimsical world kids and adults can’t seem to get enough of from pioneer Sanrio and its Hello Kitty line, and the success of Julius the Monkey and his cast of cute pals from Paul Frank Industries. In fact, there will be Harajuku Lovers products in select Sanrio stores this November.
A month after bowing on the New York runway, Stefani goes on the road with the Harajuku Lovers 2005 Tour, the first promoting her album. First stop is Oct. 16 in Phoenix.
Stefani received six nominations for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards to be held Aug. 28 in Miami, five of them for “Hollaback Girl,” including best video of the year. The single, album and Stefani were also nominated for the Teen Choice Awards, airing Aug. 16 on Fox.