“When Justin Bieber moodily slouched into the spotlight at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, strumming his low-fi version of “Yukon,” all eyes were on his … shimmering baggy boxers. Swag indeed, the singer had re-emerged into the public eye practically naked aside from a guitar and some new product for sale — his Skylrk-brand accessory line. Bieber”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
Swag indeed, the singer had re-emerged into the public eye practically naked aside from a guitar and some new product for sale — his Skylrk-brand accessory line. Bieber launched the company in July and it features a rather sparse selection of items, such as socks, sandals, sunglasses and, yes, boxers — which sold out overnight.
The skivvies-slinging came on the heels of Sydney Sweeney announcing last week she was launching a lingerie line called Syrn (pronounced “siren”).
The Housemaid star introduced the company with a viral stunt — hanging bras from the Hollywood sign. It was a technically illegal act and the backers of her new brand can only pray to the publicity gods that somebody would be foolish enough to charge her for trespassing.
Sweeney gave an interview to Elle where she touted the new company. “Syrn is about confidence without pressure, feeling sexy, powerful, soft, playful, or all of the above, depending on the day,” she said. Her first wave of sexy-powerful-soft-playful product is titled Seductress, naturally, with a Comfy line to follow in a few months and plans for a poor ol’ Romantic line relegated to the third batch. In case you’re wondering, the Syrn goes up to size 42DDD.
And back in October, the grand high priestess of celebrity brand deals, Kim Kardashian, made headlines for launching what was enthusiastically touted as her most controversial product line yet: a line of faux pubic hair string micro thongs sold through her longtime Skims brand. The underwear’s “hair” was available in red, blonde and brunette, with straight and curly textures (“The carpet doesn’t have to match the drapes,” wrote E! News gleefully). Such pube-covered garments are, presumably, for those wishing to stage R-rated historical drama nude scenes in the privacy of their home.
All of this raises two obvious questions.
First: Did the same person name all these companies? Skylrk, Syrn, Skims — They’re all starting to sound the S’aim and a bit Stuped.
Second: Is underwear the new tequila?
We’ve been enduring aa celebrity tequila business boom for more than a decade (The Hollywood Reporter first published a trend story on this back in 2013). The number of celebrities who have cashed in on tequila branding is considerable — with George Clooney having hit the biggest payday, having sold his co-founded Casamigos brand for more than $1 billion (fun fact: the celebrity tequila that surprisingly won CNN’s recent taste test panel? Mark Wahlberg’s Flecha Azul).
The celebrity tequila boom has likely peaked, notes Olav Sorenson, the Joseph Jacobs Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, although he wouldn’t go so far as to bet on a decline. “It was already a crowded space and there’s been a lot of new entires,” he points out, along with noting Gen Z has been more likely to shy away from alcohol compared to their elders.
But launching clothing lines represents a much higher degree of difficulty and risk compared to tequila, which will likely keep efforts by those like Bieber and Sweeney few and far between.
“The thing about spirits that makes it easier is a lot of it is marketing and everybody is drinking the same thing,” he says. “We think spirits taste different, but a lot of it is really psychological. A clothing line you have to worry about fit, there’s a greater variety of inventory involved [when stocking different sizes]you always have to come up with something for next season. With spirits, once you get the formulation, you’re done.”
So perhaps no custom line of Walton Goggins boxer briefs or Florence Pugh boyshorts anytime soon.