The titles are perfect. There’s the Eliza wide-leg culotte, the Pattner peak lapel blazer and the Elise chambray button-down. Although they may sound like the names of the central characters in a new dystopic young-adult franchise, they are in fact descriptions of three of Gwyneth Paltrow’s pieces from her new fashion line, Goop Label.
Yes, you heard us correctly: the Goop fashion line is a reality.
Designed by Paltrow and a small design team, the five-piece capsule collection was inspired by items in her wardrobe that she has “held on to over the years”. That the clothes in the collection are described as “elevated basics” says it all: these are omnipresent high-street staples (items such as culottes, a denim shirt and a white shirt with a black bow) that sum up an innately Gwynethtastic look — a hedge fund manager’s second wife who has just got changed after her SoulCycle class.
Goop.com has offered us many gluten-free, quinoa-flavoured e-commerce moments, such as sex toy made from gold and buffalo-horn salad servers, but sadly this is not one of those times. Where, we may ask, is the consciously uncoupling belt or the strappy top made entirely from “found” bits of aged kale? Not very lols, then, but celebrity-endorsed fashion lines have proved hard to get right. The art of distilling a celebrity’s style via the medium of a leather vest or a boot-cut jean is tricky, because it could reveal that there was — gulp — not much style to begin with. Ones that work are powered by clothes that stand alone and also allow us to construct a detailed Halloween costume of our chosen guest atelier. This year, we seemed to have got it right. Archive by Alexa Chung, Beyonce’s Ivy Park and Beth Ditto managed to tick the right boxes. As far as brand extensions go, they are only as successful as the celebrity who is the face of it.
Can we suggest for the next Goop Label range (they are releasing another batch of clothes next month) that Gwyneth and her team try to replicate some of her best looks: Margot Tenenbaum’s new Gucci, Grace Kellying it in The Talented Mr Ripley or even sobbing like a newborn in a pale-pink Ralph Lauren at the Oscars. Our advice? Go retro, Goop, go retro.
