As we all, know America’s favourite funny lady Ellen DeGeneres is adding ‘designer’ to her résumé, with the launch lifestyle brand ED (pronounced “Ed,” a nod to wife Portia de Rossi’s nickname for her).
And now we’re starting to get a peak at the new collection, which serves up cool tailored clothing and eclectic housewares inspired by DeGeneres’ own closets and homes.
I want my line to be the answer to ‘I have nothing to wear. Guests on my show always ask me where they can get my clothes. Now I’m excited to tell them, ‘I’m wearing me!'”
A teaser site, only informational and with imagery, goes live May 18 at Edbyellen.com with sales opening in mid-June.
The specific date is to be determined, as the full site remains under construction. Conversations are under way with a major retail partner and a deal should be in place in time for the fall selling season. In addition, a major event is being planned for New York Fashion Week, with the details still under discussion.
The whole brand is beyond what I expected. It’s my brand, but I can kind of brag about it, [because] it’s other people that made this happen and executed it.”
Reflecting DeGeneres’ personal style, the fashion focuses on classic tailoring and sharp attention to detail. Casual and chic — DeGeneres’ guiding mantra. Inherent therein: the comfort quotient.
It just doesn’t exist [elsewhere],” DeGeneres contended. “That’s what’s special about it. What makes a shirt different, any sweater different — it’s just all in the detail. Everything about it is casual and yet it’s chic.
This is nothing new to say, but I don’t think you should sacrifice style for comfort. That’s mainly the way I dress. I care about how I look and I care about aesthetic tremendously; I like nice things.”
For Ellen each item must not only look good but make sense.
I’m not going to wear a dress because I just don’t feel comfortable in dresses, but if I were to wear a dress it would be that dress. Probably Kim Kardashian is not going to buy my clothes. She might — and then just shorten them….I don’t think anyone [on the team] dis- agreed with me when I said the dress was too short and it wasn’t an objectification issue. It was more practical — when you sit down. I have a lot of actresses on the show. They come out and sit down and say, ‘oh, I didn’t sit down backstage. I didn’t see how short this was going to be.’ The stylists dress them right before they come out. They come down and sit down and they can’t cross their legs. I think it’s important to be able to wear a dress and be comfortable and sit down and not worry about how you sit.”
