Madonna plots a multitude of fashion ventures with new partner Iconix
Madonna, it turns out, is still looking to dress us up in her love. The pop icon has formed a joint venture with brand management firm Iconix to develop an avalanche of fashion projects.
Called MG Icon LLC, the venture will include a juniors line called Material Girl (launching at Macy’s in August) and a co-branded eyewear collection, reports Women's Wear Daily.
Along with creating brands, MG Icon will acquire existing labels and explore Madge-ready opportunities within the portfolio of 21 brands that Iconix and its other joint ventures already own. The joint venture will be 50% owned by Iconix and 50% by Madonna and her longtime manager, Guy Oseary (the "G" in MG).
The Material Girl line will launch in 200 Macy's stores and on macys.com in time for the back-to-school season, Jeff Gennette, chief merchandising officer at Macy’s Inc., told WWD. “We see a huge opportunity for us in this space for a fast-fashion line with great price points. We have not done a lifestyle line in juniors before, and Madonna is a multi-generational icon.”
There's no doubt that Madonna is an icon, and she gets full props from me on being a style icon in the '80s and '90s. But my feeling is that her fashion cachet isn't what it used to be. Remember all that Ed Hardy she wore a couple of years back? And those Louis Vuitton bunny ears? Eesh.
What do you think? Does Madge still have the style credibility to sell us clothes?
Top photo: Madonna attends the Marc Jacobs spring 2010 collection during fashion
week in New York. Credit: Peter Kramer / Associated Press