Justin Bieber's New Clothing Line Highlights the Power of Celebrity
On January 29th, Bieber dropped his new clothing line “Drew House.” The first collection consists of fourteen unisex, streetwear-inspired pieces, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pants. The collection sticks to a color scheme of red, black, and yellow, with the exception of four pieces which are made out of beige corduroy. Those who plan to buy things from Drew House should be prepared to spend a lot of money. T-shirts, the cheapest item in the collection, cost $48, while corduroy pants will set shoppers back $148.
Since his introduction to the music industry in 2009, Bieber has become a cultural phenomenon. He’s amassed a huge following, with over 104 million followers on Instagram and 105 million followers on Twitter. While this clothing line is Bieber’s first solo fashion venture, he has already collaborated with several large fashion houses for creating his tour merchandise such as Barney’s, H&M, and Forever 21.
Drew House, however, is incredibly different from Bieber’s past collaborations. Gone are the Bieber-branded flannels and edgy concert tees. Drew House seems to be Bieber’s idea of the “too cool for school” Gen Z’ers. The monotone collection evokes a baggy, California-skater aesthetic. The “about us” section of the Drew House website describes the brand as such: “drew house is a place where you can be yourself. blah blah blah blahsdbksjdfhl wear like you don’t care. come chill. k. Bye.” No, that wasn’t a typo in the middle, the website really does say, “blahsdbksjdfhl”.
Bieber’s idea is nothing new. This sort of aesthetic has become incredibly popular among celebrity streetwear lines. Drew House simply looks like a lesser version of Kanye West’s Yeezy collection and Scott Disick’s Talentless clothing line.
After the release of Drew House, fans flooded social media with complaints about the line. People complained about the style of clothing, the high prices, and even the apathetic marketing style.
drew house prices are insane and a whole joke. 140$ for a simple hoodie with a smiley face on it when i can buy something like that at primark? bruh @justinbieber get your shit together
— r (@lookngfryou) January 29, 2019
Despite all of these complaints, Justin Bieber’s power and influence kept hold, as the entire line sold out in 24 hours. Furthermore, Drew House clothes are currently being sold on eBay for double their price, with t-shirts starting at $99.
The students that currently attend AUP grew up in the Justin Bieber generation. We were all in middle school and high school when Bieber's first hit single "One Time" took over the radios. Whether we are coming from America, Europe, Africa, or anywhere else in between, the name Justin Bieber was unavoidable. Bieber's line is targeted directly towards us students, a mix of Gen-Z's and young millennials who know what Bieber is all about. Unfortunately, Bieber's power and influence doesn't seem to reach to the target market across the Atlantic, with price and general brand perception being the line's cited weaknesses. When asked if she would buy anything from the collection, AUP Junior Nike Hartmann said, “No f*cking way. I don’t buy clothes from celebrity lines, especially not Justin Bieber.” Sophomore Wyatt DeLong echoed the sentiment, but with less strength, saying, “I would maybe wear the button down, but it’s not worth the price.”
Drew House's sold out Collection. Image Credit: House of Drew
So while Justin Bieber may not have a strong impact on AUP students, Drew House as a whole highlights the incredible power of celebrity and its influence on consumer behavior. Drew House received lots of criticism from Bieber’s fans, yet they were still willing to pay $138 for a pair of corduroy shorts that have “drew” embroidered across the crotch. Celebrities like Justin Bieber are able to reach millions of people and build unwavering loyalty among fans who are willing to do anything for him, including reach into their wallets. Because honestly, if Bieber’s name was not on this collection, would it have sold out? Probably not.
