At just about every New York Fashion Week, a celebrity sets out to conquer the world with a new clothing line. And most invariably fail.
The list of strikeouts is long: Jennifer Lopez, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Mandy Moore, Avril Lavigne, and LL Cool J are just a few of the big names that launched collections that bombed. Among the biggest successes, surprisingly, is Jessica Simpson, who has built a billion-dollar retail empire.
Hoping to emulate Simpson's success, Texas native Eva Longoria launched her namesake brand in March and unveiled her spring 2018 lineup during fashion week last month. She featured two collections-in-one, as models strolled the runway to music exclusively by Latin artists, including Maluma, Gente de Zona, and Daddy Ynkee.
The first nine looks were from her brand, #SETLIFE, an atheleisure line of stylish "elevated sweatsuits" with V-neck tops (no hoodies) and cropped track pants with silver trim that can be worn running errands or, in Longoria's case, on the job, where the 42-year-old actress is carving out a second career as a director of such shows as black-ish and Jane the Virgin.
The next 23 looks from her Eva Longoria Collection included a lot of chic daytime options, ranging from crepe dresses and floral bomber jackets to eyelet rompers and twill jumpsuits. The collection also features PowerSculpt denim jeans with four-way stretch to hug the body in all the right places, although Longoria made her runway bow afterwards in a less-attention-getting black bomber, leggings, and white sneakers.
While Longoria was focused on her runway collection, she also remains concerned about those Texans impacted by Hurricane Harvey. She donated profits from sales of the collection over a period of time to a Harvey relief fund and took part in the telethon to raise more money to aid victims.
"We're trying to make sure everybody is taken care of," said the Corpus Christi native. "Being from my home state, Texans are a community that rallies together."
Eva Longoria poses backstage with some of the models in her casual spring/summer 2018 collection at New York Fashion Week.
Celebrity Leslie Bibb is a fan of the Houston-based brand 11 Juillet. Photo courtesy of 11 Juillet
