• Ad Age, Vogue UK, Thursday, February 5, 2009 11 AM

What's in a good name? Apparently, less than there used to be.

Celebrity fashion brands are far from immune from the recession, Claude Brodesser-Akner reports. Plus, there are just too many stars trying to transfer red-carpet celebrity into runway gold. Fashion insiders say LL Cool J's apparel line is hanging by a thread at Sears. It's being advertised at up to 50% off online.

Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten line of clothing -- perceived to have been a hit -- was left without a retail partner when Steve and Barry's went bankrupt, also stranding Amanda Bynes' Dear line, Venus Williams' Eleven and surfer Laird Hamilton's Wonderwall.

"Even before the economy went bad, the market became oversaturated with celebrity brands," says Victoria Brynner, CEO of Stardust Visions, which brokers celebrity endorsements for corporate clients such as Louis Vuitton (Scarlett Johansson), Stetson (Matthew McConaughey) and Nautica (Katherine Heigl).

Glum forecasts notwithstanding, the irrepressible Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have announced that their women's label, The Row, will soon carry menswear, according to Vogue UK. They are targeting the "older, masculine man." I am socking away spare twenties already in anticipation of investing in a T-shirt, which will start at around $200, Lauren Milligan reports .

Read the whole story at Ad Age, Vogue UK »