Making money right now as a designer is obviously not easy, so many are looking to launch lower-priced lines that people can actually afford. The Home Shopping Network is preying on these designers. The network has been hungry for fashion for years, and now that the recession’s set in, they can finally sign people who can bring it to them. CEO Mindy Grossman, who came aboard in 2006, confessed to WWD, “We weren’t the most fashionable and we had to really define this.” And so they’ve recruited Badgley Mischka, who will launch a line of apparel, shoes, and accessories called American Glamour next month, as rumored. Naeem Kahn is also launching an HSN collection called Timeless later this month. What was once a dumping ground for celebrity jewelry lines is now a destination for legitimate designers.
Hungry for even more relevancy, HSN will also branch into that second-most-sacred category of culture (after fashion, of course): reality television. They’re working on a new show called Mom Inc. in partnership with TLC and Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelo’s production company, Milojo Productions. At least they’ve finally discovered what television was intended for. It is not — and perhaps was never, even before the Internet — meant for buying and selling belts and heart-shaped waffle-makers. It’s for watching people make fools of themselves and marveling at their narcissism.
