River island records

Dress like a music icon

What?: High-street retailer River Island is teaming up with NME.com to promote its clothing range. The Stuff We Love section will give fashion advice on how to look like style icons from the music world. A competition attached to the campaign will give users of the site the chance to win exclusive tickets to see Foo Fighters at Wembley Stadium in June. They’ll also get River Island clothing worth £100.

Swedish fashion chain H&M has launched Fashion Against AIDS which is supported by musicians including Rihanna, Timbaland, The Cardigans and Ziggy Marley.

The music celebrity clothing bandwagon takes a sharp left turn. The man behind the stage wear of Bon Jovi, Metallica, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath is to launch a new women’s clothing line – the Ray Brown Classic collection.

So what?: The music fashion combo is looking a little threadbare at the beginning of 2008; the industry’s clever branding sewing machine is clearly on the blink. Cardigans sponsored by The Cardigans at H&M is relatively uninteresting and band-specific, even if it is for a good cause. As for the Ray Brown Classic collection, is anyone other than Suzi Quatro really going to buy anything? River Island has the right idea by targeting the portal of interest rather than a specific band endorsement.

“That’s like Mojo hooking up with Marks & Spencer. My mother always told me River Island was for respectable young lasses like myself, knowing that it’s the choice of Foo Fighters fans makes me question what kind of Hormone Replacement Therapy she’s on”
Chantelle Fiddy, Freelance Journalist

www.riverisland.com