For one of the like-it-or-not icons of our time, it's curious that Paris Hilton's clothing line, which launched last spring, is so light on the branding. The Paris emblem, a backward swirly question mark with devil horns and a halo, appears on her labels but is conspicuously absent from blazer lapels or the backs of her bedazzled track jackets and daisy dukes.
With her clothing, fragrance, and home video endeavors doing just fine, the entrepreneurial heiress's branding machine invites you to stagger a mile in her shoes this spring with the launch of the Paris Hilton signature footwear line. Paris told Footwear News that she "designed" the shoes "for women who love style and love to change it, depending on the occasion." Women and cross-dressing men who prefer to take their flip-flops from the office to the gym to a night on the town will apparently have to look elsewhere.
Depending on who we asked at the preview last week, Paris was either restrained in her design contributions, asking for only one hue change from a purplish pink to a more pinkish pink, or systematically vigilant, sending detailed notes on each of the more than two dozen items. In either case, Paris and the Antebi Footwear Group have produced a product sure to appeal to her target demographic: strippers and sorority sisters.