We’ve all grown up hearing “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I’m sure my mom said that to my older sister back when I tried to copy her every move and hang out with her friends who were 6 years my senior. My sister probably rolled her eyes and went about her way, no big deal, right? But what if the person admiring you was not your younger sister, but instead a big name celebrity (with a history of crazy). It’s well known that Courtney Love has been admiring the work of Dawn Younger Smith, our locally loved fashion designer a.k.a. the “Boudoir Queen”, for a few years now. The Boudoir Queen, who started her fashion journey 10 years ago when she started up-cycling vintage clothing, has specialized in making stage clothes for famous musicians such as Patty Griffin, Imogen Heap, Shawn Colvin, and yes, Courtney Love.
After the Hole front woman initially made an $8,000 purchase of Boudoir Queen clothing from the designer’s Etsy store several years ago, the relationship of Courtney with the Boudoir Queen may have started off as nothing more than a simple artist admiring another artist’s work, but has now turned into, well, possibly something else.
Courtney Love just recently launched her own fashion line “Never the Bride” posting the first photos of the clothing on her Twitter just a few days ago. The singer has described the line as “repurposed Edwardian, Victorian with an edge” and told the Huffington Post “This is the stuff that I would wear if I was young enough to not look like Bette Davis in ‘Whatever Happened After Baby Jane?’.” Hmm…sounds eerily familiar, right? Let’s break down some of the Never the Bride images that have appeared on Courtney’s Twitter alongside some older Boudoir Queen images, shall we?….
Let’s keep in mind that oftentimes artists do have similar aesthetics, and after all, the Boudoir Queen and the former rock star are indeed the same age and both have a longtime appreciation of vintage clothing. But wouldn’t you think Courtney, who last year had a lawsuit filed against her by the Boudoir Queen (for libel and defamation, among other things) be trying to separate herself from the designer? That lawsuit by the way was settled out of court and by the end of 2014 Courtney will have paid the Boudoir Queen just over $400,000 (turns out insane Twitter rants can be quite costly when you’re a celebrity). In a recent article in the Statesman about the Boudoir Queen and her life long journey from makeup designer to fashion designer, it states that Dawn would like to put the infamous Courtney debacle behind her. But with this recent Never the Bride clothing line making its online debut, I wonder if she can?
It’s not news that artists inspire each other and even imitate one another, especially in the fashion industry. Big designer brands such as Chanel or Louis Vuitton are constantly having their designs knocked off. Everything that walks the runways during New York Fashion Week will somehow find itself reinvented in a less expensive way for the mass consumer market. Although while normally it is already well established brands who are setting the trends and inspiring others, in the case of the “Never the Bride” line it looks like perhaps the opposite is happening.
Those who are famous have an automatic platform where their voices and ideas can be heard. For those of us without a world wide known name, we have to work a little bit harder to be heard. I just hope that the voice of big time celeb Courtney Love does not drown out the voice of our Austin-based fashion designer. But perhaps Courtney’s big mouth and delusions will once again be the cause of her own demise. Courtney recently stated on her Pinterest that the major retail website Net-a-Porter would be carrying her line. Net-a-Porter quickly and publicly denied this claim. Will Courtney’s Never the Bride clothing line even be available for purchase anywhere? I don’t know and I doubt that many people care. But, the Boudoir Queen’s designs can all be found on her Etsy store, a site that Courtney Love will most likely continue to purchase clothing from.
Joanna Wilkinson
keep austin stylish