Celebrities are busy bees with a lot of them having multiple projects and side hustles. One of the most popular side hustles for celebrities is for them to try their hand at fashion with a clothing line.
It has become almost as common for celebrities to have clothing lines as it is for them to have perfumes. But, not all celebrity clothing lines are made equal. A ton of celebrities might attempt to be fashion designers, but there are only a select few who are truly successful celebrity fashion designers – i.e. Jessica Simpson and Rihanna. There are many, many more who have failed… and failed hard. In fact, you might not even remember these celebrity fashion lines.
1. Sweetface by Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez was one of the celebrities who made us think that stars could be more than one thing. She helped champion the idea that celebrities could be moguls and brands. She had conquered dancing, singing, acting and perfume before she made her way to fashion. You might be familiar with Jennifer Lopez’s namesake line. It’s actually the relaunch of her 2001 fashion label J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez. To go back to the beginning, Jennifer launched the brand with promises of it becoming a proper lifestyle brand. In 2003, she debuted sister label Sweetface. A bunch of things happened with buyouts and brand switch-ups. By 2009, J.Lo was gone and Sweetface was replaced by JustSweet. The latter brand later closed. But, J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez did get resurrected later, simply as Jennifer Lopez. Did you follow all of that?
2. FuMan Skeeto by Chris Kirkpatrick
Out of all of the *NSYNC members, you might have guessed that Justin Timberlake or Lance Bass were the ones to get clothing lines. But, it was Chris Kirkpatrick that tried his hand at fashion. In an attempt to capitalize on boyband fame he launched FuMan Skeeto in 1999. The range was for men and women and the launch was at Planet Hollywood rather than New York Fashion Week. It was described as casual clothing with a sporty twist but was gaudier than athleisure with patches decorating everything. The line did have some stockists, but it didn’t have the sales. The brand folded in 2002.
3. Mblem by Many Moore
Long before Mandy Moore was making us cry on This Is Us, she had a clothing line called Mblem by Mandy Moore. She launched it in the mid-2000s during the height of her fame post-2002’s Walk to Remember and after she had racked up some singing and acting credits. The strong fashion following and fact the label had secured deals at department stores like Nordstrom made it have a promising start. But after four years, the T-shirt and “contemporary knit” label went on a hiatus in 2009. It has been almost 10 years and it doesn’t look like Mblem is going to be coming out of the hiatus, so don’t get your hopes up.
4. 6126 by Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan has dabbled in many things: Acting, singing, producing, modeling and Greek club owning. You can include designing clothes in that, too. After going through some rather public drama and scandals, the actress launched 6126 by Lindsay Lohan in 2008. The brand was launched with “designer leggings” and had plans to expand into all areas of clothing. The timing couldn’t have been better given that everyone was obsessed with leggings (and still are). But, the problem was the price. “Designer” equaled expensive and it seemed there was only so much people were willing to pay for glorified sweatpants. On top of that, the business had to deal with a number of scandals and lawsuits, including copyright infringement. By 2011, we had pretty much seen the last of the brand.
5. The Katherine Heigl Collection by Katherine Heigl
What do you do when you’re on a popular TV show with a rather specific wardrobe? You attempt to parlay it into a fashion line, evidently. At least that’s what Katherine Heigl planned to do. With the success of Grey’s Anatomy, she launched The Katherine Heigl Collection. The range debuted in 2007 and was dubbed a “Licensed Brand of Fashion Medical Apparel.” Unsurprisingly, the line was met with criticism by true medical professionals who wondered why someone who played a doctor on TV thought they were fit to design proper medical gear. It also had a random “30-day launch” of sorts, but pretty much ended up disappearing after the “launch.”
6. Abbey Dawn by Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne is known for her sk8r grl style, so the idea that she would launch a clothing line to make it easier for fans to copy her lewk has its merits. The singer launched Abbey Dawn in 2008. If you’re wondering about the name, it’s apparently Avril’s childhood nickname that her dad gave her. The clothing line was exactly the sort of thing one would expect from Avril with its mall punk vibe and embellishment. It was around longer than other collections and was even showcased at New York Fashion Week. It went off the map in 2013 and there really hasn’t been much of it since.
7. Pastelle by Kanye West
What, you thought that Kanye West has been nothing but successful in fashion thanks to Yeezy? You’re actually mistaken. Pastelle by Kanye West shows that it can sometimes take people a while to hone their craft and/or find their market. If you go back into the interview archives, it’s no secret that Kanye has always wanted a clothing line. Not to mention that he has called himself a “legendary fashion designer.” He began to work on Pastelle in 2007 and there are photos of him wearing clothes with the logo written on it, but this was one fashion brand that didn’t even make it to its launch. Uncharacteristically, Kanye has kept quiet about the entire thing. Complex tried to uncover what really happened and it seemed it was a combination of not enough money and resources and lack of satisfaction by ‘Ye with the product that led to the demise of the line. Talk of the collection went quiet in 2009 and a source in the Complex interview called the never-released clothing line Kanye’s “university for fashion.”
8. Heidiwood by Heidi Montag
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have made some very interesting decisions over the years. Remember Heidi’s music career? What about their six-figure crystal obsession? One could say the idea for Heidi to launch a clothing line wasn’t one of their better ones. Perhaps wanting to copy/rival Lauren Conrad’s fashion brands, Heidi launched Heidiwood in 2008. There was a runway show and the line was sold exclusively at Anchor Blue. There really wasn’t much substance to the range because it was pretty much all revealing tops and itty-bitty shorts. Yeah, and “cheap” might have been used to describe it. It lasted a year before Anchor Blue axed the label.
9. Miley Cyrus x Max Azria
This is actually an interesting one and you will likely be scratching your head about how it came to be. Back in her Hannah Montana heydays, Miley Cyrus partnered with Walmart to produce a clothing line. That move made sense because it meant her fans would be able to shop the line easily without breaking the bank. The twist was that Max Azria, fashion designer for BCBG Max Azria Group, got involved, too. The designer is known for his higher price points and sexy dresses, so it might seem really random for the Miley Cyrus x Max Azria line to have launched at Walmart and be geared towards tween and teen girls. It initially performed pretty well thanks to the funky styles. (Think plaid tops, faux leather jackets, jeans, furry vests, etc.) The range launched in 2009 but met its end in 2011 after the Max Azria company had some credit issues and needed to “streamline” its business to make creditors happy. Oh, and there was some trouble that some of the accessories in the Miley Cyrus x Max Azria collection reportedly contained high amounts of lead. Yes, lead.
10. Dollhouse by Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton likes to describe herself as a businesswoman. There’s some merit in the title because she has managed to turn being an heiress and a reality TV star into a lot of different ventures including a popular fragrance range and, recently, a skincare line. After modeling for a few different brands, she decided to try her hand at designing. It wasn’t one of her most successful decisions. She launched Dollhouse by Paris Hilton in 2008 during the height of The Simple Life. The line was very Paris because it was full of pinks, hyper-feminine styles and lots of the clothes had her face on them. It disappeared pretty much as quickly as it came. Proving that everything will come around again, she collaborated with Boohoo in 2018 on a clothing line that was a total throwback to her mid-2000s style.
11. House of Dereon by Beyoncé
Everybody knows about the success of Ivy Park, but do you remember Beyoncé’s other clothing line? If you call yourself a true Bey fan, you might. Prior to the Ivy Park launch of 2016, Beyoncé got into fashion with her mama, Tina Knowles, and created House of Dereon. She launched the brand in 2006 which was three years after she solidified her status as a bonafide solo artist with “Crazy in Love.” You might have thought Queen Bey would have had everything back then for the label to reach epic heights, but it didn’t. The contemporary fashion label had fashion shows and was stocked in major department stores. Whether it was the higher prices or the actual garments, it didn’t sell like hotcakes. It became another brand to go into “hiatus.” The announcement was made in 2012 with reps promised a rebranding, but we’re still waiting. Not that we need it. Ivy Park is doing well enough.
12. Te Casan by Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman is a very successful actress, but she wasn’t the most successful celebrity fashion designer. She did something different by launching a vegan shoe line, Te Casan. Like many others on the list, it was a project that debuted in the mid-to-late 2000s. The brand launched in 2008 and the shoes were classic, suiting the creator’s style. Perhaps the prices were a bit too high or the range was too ahead of its time because it folded in 2009. FYI: The shoes were sold for around $200 a pop.
13. Stuff by Hilary Duff
If you loved Hilary Duff’s style on Lizzie McGuire and in real life, you were probably thrilled to bits when she launched Stuff by Hilary Duff in 2004. The line played into the aesthetics of Lizzie exactly and it was affordable because it launched at Claire’s and Target. At first, it was actually very successful and even expanded. It relaunched in 2006 but by 2008, it was over. There were clearly some business problems because it was revealed Hilary didn’t have control of the line anymore so it went kaput.
14. Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker
If you were a betting person, you would probably put money on a Sarah Jessica Parker fashion collection being a success, given that she is Carrie Bradshaw, right? Well, not even SJP’s style credentials and Sex and the City background could save her Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker clothing line. She launched the affordable fashion collection in 2007 exclusively at Steve & Barry’s stores. The fact fans could pick up SJP merch for under $20 as opposed to $800 for Manolos made it an initial success. Unfortunately, the brand wasn’t immune when Steve & Barry stores filed for bankruptcy in 2009. When the chain closed, the brand met its end. It’s not all bad for Sarah Jessica Parker. She has since launched a high-end shoe collection, SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, (no surprise) and dabbled in designing clothes again.
15. Mantra by Tara Reid
Tara Reid with a clothing line? You better believe it was once true. Would you expect anything less from the woman who created a Sharknado perfume? Tara isn’t exactly known as a fashion icon, so she wouldn’t have been the first person many would have guessed to launch a clothing line. In 2008, she launched Mantra by Tara Reid which was pretty much a swimsuit line with a few graphic tees and shorts thrown in. It suited her and actually did get stocked at a few places. Yet, it pretty much disappeared as soon as it came.
16. Dear by Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes has had a rocky road in recent years. One of the more positive news stories was that she was studying at FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. Prior to formally studying fashion, she actually had a clothing line. Following the success of The Amanda Show and Amanda’s transition into movies (Easy A, Hairspray!, She’s The Man), she released Dear by Amanda Bynes with Steve & Barry’s stores in 2007. Unfortunately, her clothing line suffered the same fate as SJP’s when the retailer went bust. Dear was dunzo when the clothing stores closed.