Taylor Momsen Fronts Madonna’s Macy’s Line
Genius marketing move or synchronized shark jumping? Via BNET:
For the tween/teen fashion shoppers who think of Madonna as Lourdes’ mom, Macy’s (M) has hired its very own bad girl to be the face and boost the credibility of its Material Girls line for potential customers who are trying to cut the apron strings.
A fashion brand that has design input from Madonna and her 13-year-old daughter Lourdes Leon is bound to generate lots of publicity, which is what Macy’s was counting on when it signed up the singer via Iconix, the brand licensing company that works with Kohl’s (KSS) –- and, lately Britney Spears — on the Candie’s brand. Yet, a mom-and-daughter project may seem a little too quaint for some teens, even if Lourdes is referred to by her nickname of Lola in association with the brand.
So, enter Taylor Momsen, the punky, 16-year-old Gossip Girl actress and wannabe rocker who has distinguished herself from the rest of the cast by dragging on smokes and dropping F-bombs. Could Macy’s have found a better reflection of the breakout punky pop singing wannabe actress Madonna from the Reagan years? Maybe, but this one suits the breaking Material Girl advertising campaign, at least for now.
With Momsen, Macy’s and Iconix have hedged their bets nicely. In the Material Girl introduction, Macy’s can promote the edginess associated with the past Madonna and the current Momsen for teens who are traditionally skeptical about whatever mom wants them to wear, even if mom is Madonna. At the same time, it has the warm if not altogether fuzzy story of the Madonna/daughter collaboration to sell the moms of Material Girl’s target audience. They, after all, have ultimate control of the credit the cards that will determine if the brand lives up to Material Girl rolling-in-bucks aspirations.
If Momsen acts up - in the wrong way, that is - and turns out to be more of a hindrance than a help moving the brand as back to school progresses toward the holiday season, Macy’s can dump her in a flash. It’ll still have an ace in the hole with Lourdes, or Lola. The name used may depend upon how much damage Momsen has done and just how Macy’s wants to spin the line in the aftermath.
I have to admit: beyond finding Madonna to be sort of joylessly pursuing the shadow of her former notoriety these days, her devotion to all things Ed Hardy (not to mention her semi-disastrous tracksuit line for H&M some years back) make her a dubious choice to helm the latest celeb fashion line. As Stylelist points out, much like the lady herself, “the collection is a mishmash of Madonna’s greatest fashion hits from the early years.” Which is to say, an 80s retro meet not-quite-ready-for-Topshop look.
And then, there is the Momsen. Much like Little J, Momsen has been on a particularly bratty winning streak as of late, which does somehow does solidify her as a natural choice for spokesmodel.
My prediction? Despite the interesting marketing choices, this collection will most likely fizzle like those ill-fated velour tracksuits, especially when celeb-driven shoppers can find much more solid wardrobe pieces from the Olsens and Gwen Stefani. Madonna, of course, will keep on keeping on, Lourdes will remain one to watch, and Taylor Momsen? Well, that’s anyone’s guess, although the Courtney Love path is both a cheap shot and a good guess.
Your thoughts?
Image credit: Macy’s/Material Girl Collection
