Every little girl dreams up her perfect dress.
It’s the first school dance, then prom, followed by the wedding dress. So in reality, if a design company approached you to design your dream dress, wouldn’t you jump at the chance?
Actress Kate Hudson did.
She has designed five little black dresses for Ann Taylor to be released on April 10. The designs range from work-appropriate to black tie. Hudson designed the capsule collection with practicality in mind.
However, the black dress has been done before — again and again, in fact. Every style, cut and fabric have been used to make one, and even in mid-July, a black dress can be found in almost any retail store. From someone who has too many in her closet, they’re everywhere and in large quantities.
So why were more little black dresses necessary? The five designs are nice but nothing that hasn’t been seen before.
But more importantly, why did Ann Taylor have to employ Hudson to design these five dresses? Did Hudson really slave over drawing up designs, picking fabrics and making sure they were sewn just right?
Or did she say “yes” or “no” to what an Ann Taylor designer envisioned until there were five perfect dresses for the lineup?
While it’s smart for a fashion house to employ a celebrity to be the face and the mind behind a capsule collection to drum up more business and make consumers feel like they’re getting something limited edition, it also takes away from the actual fashion house.
Shoppers who never go into Ann Taylor will be flocking and fighting over the size 6, 8 or 12 dress because Hudson’s name is on the label. They don’t care that Ann Taylor provided the fabric, the man power and the actual retail space for them to make that purchase a reality.
At work or a dinner party, women will be saying they’re wearing a Hudson dress instead of an Ann Taylor dress.
Yes, Hudson was surely involved in the process and does deserve some credit. However, Ann Taylor is the one who put in the majority of the work and deserves more credit.
People need to be aware when shopping a capsule collection. The fashion house is the major force behind the celebrity that makes the designs a reality.
Meg Ryan is a 19-year-old mass communication freshman from Philadelphia.