Blahnik Bites It

You don't have to own a pair or have sat through more than one episode of Sex and the City to know that Manolo Blahnik makes legendary shoes. So I kind of feel that maybe the company has jumped the shark a bit with the launch of a new candle collection.

Whenever a high end designer launches an extension of their signature brand, be it fragrance, accessory, or home line, it's usually in the hopes of attracting would-be customers with more affordable "luxury" items. If a 29 year old woman like myself loves her Dior Addict perfume, you can bet she'll be shopping at the Dior boutique the first time her paycheck allows. The problem is that the strategy often takes on its own life and the brand ends up as a Designer Imposter spray sitting on some teenager's dusty shelf next to the Clearasil. Oh, sorry, enough about me.

That's not to say the brand extension won't work (although in my professional opinion they should have launched something that better reflected Mr. Blahnik's legendary craftmanship; candles are so, well, random, and from a company that makes shoes, well, I'm just saying its not the best connotation.) But it has been said that since SATC catapulted the shoe company to worldwide fame, the brand has suffered a bit of a backlash. Overexposure led the fashion-driven Carrie Bradshaws of the world to seek out the next best thing, which, going by the number of red soles in Hollywood, is Christian Louboutin. Pick up any UsWeekly or Star magazine - that celebrity's crimson sole isn't a reflection of the red carpet, but Mr. Louboutin's subtle, but brilliant, trademark.

I guess I see it like this: if Louboutin is It-Girl Lindsay Lohan, Manolo is Yesterday's News Paris Hilton. Somewhat appropriately, well-heeled rival Jimmy Choo has already aligned itself with Nicole Richie (via the ad campaign), so maybe the candle collection was really Manolo's way of channeling Paris - with something "that's hot." Too bad that is SO 2004.

Update 3/16 - Note this relevant story than ran in the NY Observer that covers said backlash.

Update 3/30 - More consensus that candle collection might not be the best, um, step.