April 22, 2005

An Old Nickname Yields Sweet Profits for This Chick

Sometimes having a childhood nickname stick can turn out to be a very profitable experience. Just ask Chick, a.k.a. Nicky Hilton, who is using her nickname for a new juniors clothing collection.

The 21-year-old Hilton revealed the line to New Yorkers last month in Macy’s Herald Square on her “Shop Like a Hilton” countrywide tour. Donning her own creations, she wore a sheer, white tunic, a white tank top with “chick” on it, and painted jeans, with a signature “H” for Hilton on them.

Hilton, who attended but didn’t graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology, collaborated with Pacific Rim group Benvin Industries to produce her clothes through their New York office. Chick debuted last August in Las Vegas at Magic, one of the world’s largest exhibitions of women’s wear, and where other celebrities have kicked off their lines.

Hilton designed the assortment of inexpensive, ready-to-wear casuals composed of jeans, hoodies, tank tops, tunics and denim blazers. The hoodies are adorned with ice cream cones on one side and rain clouds on the other. The jeans range from plain blue capris to the more elaborately designed full-length ones that don an “H” and blue and pink painted angels. At $95, they are the most expensive item in the collection.

The least expensive item in the collection, the vibrant tanks for $35 come in the pastel spring colors of green, blue, lavender, yellow, pink and white. In addition to the same “H” and angels design, one tank says “Diary of a Socialite,” while another has a gothic cross.

“I have the same cross tattoo that she has on her tank tops,” said Alexandria Pappas, 16, who bought the gothic-cross tank at the Macy’s show. “I think [the collection] is very today with what is out there.”

“It’s cute, but very basic right now,” said Star Frost, 21, an aspiring fashion designer who was also at the signing. “Next season I’d like to see more stuff in the collection. I’d like to see more rhinestones, but I guess that’s more Paris’ style, though. I’m looking forward to her next line.”

This is not the first time that the brunette has ventured into fashion. Hilton was introduced to Tokyo-based designer Samantha Thavasa, and almost immediately produced her first handbag collection for Thavasa at the age of 17. Two years later, Hilton designed a more personalized collection for Thavasa that catered more to her unique style.

In the sequel collection was the ever popular bowling bag-like handbags embellished with Hilton’s lucky number 7. The 7 bag was a gift to the celebrity winners of the Teen Choice Awards in 2004 and has been spotted on the arm of Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson, Tara Reid, Lindsay Lohan and, yes, Paris Hilton.

Of course, Hilton is not the first celebrity-turned-fashion designer. Jaclyn Smith was one of the first celebrities to launch her own clothing line. From its inception in 1985, Smith’s collection of everyday basics has sold more than 40 million articles of clothing at Kmart.

In recent years, several other celebrities followed in the footsteps of Smith. In 1998, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs launched Sean John — taken from his first and middle names — a collection of sportswear geared for men and boys.

In addition to this popular line, Combs created and marketed one of last year’s most seen pieces of clothing, the “Vote or Die” T-shirt advertising the importance of voting for the 2004 election. Through its ever-present appearance on the rap mogul and his famous posse, the shirt was a driving force of a movement to encourage young people to vote, one of the most positive things that a star designer has done with a creation.

Jennifer Lopez’s company, Sweetface, has done extremely well in the past. Though her clothing and perfumes aimed at young women had a rough start, the company took in more than $130 million dollars last year in revenue. In February, Lopez came out with a higher-end line of clothing during New York’s spring fashion week.

Many other celebrities are gearing up for their fashion debuts. This month, Elizabeth Hurley launches her United Kingdom line Beach, appropriately titled for the beachwear that includes a variety of coverings that women can wear while in the sun.

Mariah Kiss Kiss will be Mariah Carey’s first plunge into the fashion industry. The line will debut in June and will solely be a collection of underwear for women of all sizes.

Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles, the longtime designer for Destiny Child’s onstage and red carpet garments, will start a line of casual, contemporary sportswear. Slated for an October release by their company The House of Dereon, the line will be labeled Couture. Kick. Coul.

Look for these and other famous faces to debut their creative genius soon.