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When Rachel Zoe, celebrity stylist and expert holiday advice giver, launched her clothing line in 2011, it was less of a debut and more of a coup: The very Zoe-esque line took Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Shopbop, Nordstrom, Saks, Intermix, Kirna Zabête, and Selfridges. Selfridges has since dropped the line. Bergdorf's has reduced the inventory from shop-in-shop to a few racks. And now Saks moved the 2012 collection to online only, Buzzfeed Shift reports.
But as Buzzfeed argues, moving merch from a giant shop-in-shop to a few racks and then to just the online shop doesn't mean the imminent demise of tassels and six inch heels for everyone. Maren Hartman, professional trend forecaster, blames all the hoopla on Zoe's fame. Hartman told Shift, "I think that due to Rachel Zoe's celebrity and the large initial interest by the media and retailers, some of the typical 'start-up' issues haven't been ironed out yet. She's just simply getting a lot more attention than most new designers." In short, the move is pretty standard, but like a tweenage Disney star, Zoe is just dealing with growing pains in the public eye.
· Is Rachel Zoe's Clothing Line A Flop? [Buzzfeed Shift]
· Rachel Zoe Gives Advice on Sequins, Office Party Drinking [Racked]
· Rachel Zoe's Show is a Go for the Fifth Season [Racked]