Kendall + Kylie launch upscale fashion line–will consumers buy it?

Kendall and Kylie Jenner launch a new fashion line targeted at upscale customers. Photo: DONATO SARDELLA/GETTY

Kendall and Kylie Jenner have launched a new fashion line, boldly going where no Kardashian has gone before to–namely to  Neiman Marcus and beyond.  Kendall + Kylie is no Kardashian Kollection (previously sold at Sears.) The new fashion line, fronted by the Jenners girls will be sold at Neiman Marcus (featuring exclusive pieces just for Neiman’s customers), Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue. Those upscale retailers are a giant leap up from the Jenner girls Pac-Sun (also sold at Topshop) collection of budget priced casual apparel.  So what do Kendall + Kylie have to offer to the Neiman Marcus shopper?  A fashionista who typically buys name brand designers with a sophisticated design and quality fabrics? It’s a good question.  

Kendall and Kylie dress and separates, including leather jacket, available only at Neiman Marcus.

Beyond their celebrity cachet, Kendall + Kylie offers apparel and some very trendy shoes.  At Neiman Marcus prices range from $98.00 to  almost $1,000 for a Belted Front Leather zip jacket ( a Neiman’s exclusive now available for pre-order.)

Some of the pieces echo works of other designers like a Balmain look a like v-necked striped crop-top and a black midi dress with a flounce at the bottom (similar to dress by Oscar de la Renta.)

The only at Neiman Marcus (hashtag#OnlyatNM) Kendall + Kylie Collection is available for pre-sale now on NeimanMarcus.com/KendallandKylie and in all 42 Neiman Marcus stores on April 7th.

A more contemporary version of the Kendall + Kylie collection is available at Nordstrom with all pieces under $300.00.  The Nordstrom version of the line is heavy on crop tops, jumpsuits and mini-dresses and caged shoes similar to their previous Topshop offerings.  Early reviews from Nordstrom shoppers give the shoes good reviews, but the apparel lower marks, including the fit running small (although there aren’t many reviews in yet.)

What do you think readers? Are Kendall and Kylie Jenner the teenagers you want to dress like? Personally, Kylie’s style does not interest me in the least. Her looks seem body conscious copies of her sister Kim Kardashian’s style.  Kendall’s style is bit more classy looking, as it should be, since she models for some of the top designers in the world.

I’ll be interested to see how their collections sell.  Will Kendall and Kylie do as well as the Olsen twins fashion line, or will their fashions fade out like their sister’s  Kardashian Kollection at Sears? Of even more concern to the retailers selling this line, will Kendall and Kylie’s enormous, but perhaps not necessarily authentic, social media following head out to Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom to buy Kendall + Kylie?   I can see the Neiman Marcus version of Kendall + Kylie getting a price reduction as the apparel is not comparable to other offerings at Neiman’s (in my opinion) with the same price point.

The timing of the Jenner fashion line coincides with publication of Ian Halperin’s new tell all book about the Kardashian family.    I’m not sure that Halperin’s revelations will help sales of these fashions.