[Red Moon]

Looks like the X Factor has made it into the board sheets with an article about brands and more.

From runway to reality . . . TV

Last Saturday, as TV presenter Dermot O'Leary announced the winner of The X Factor before an audience of more than 8m, viewers were witness not only to the tearful sight of Britain's next talent hopeful, victorious after surviving weekly rounds of viewer voting, but to a potential fashion industry phenomenon in the making. The X Factor, you see, is not only the showcase for new British bubblegum pop talent, but has also become a platform for exposing the masses to serious couture.

It began when Simon Cowell, the show's creator, asked stylist Faye Sawyer to turn the female X Factor contestants into polished pop divas. Forgoing the usual high-street glitz, Sawyer brought in London-based fashion label Xterity. The brainchild of marketing man Darren Edwards, Xterity was formed a year ago to offer a ready-to-wear and made-to-measure service courtesy of British designer Tracy Mulligan - a talent who, in her former incarnation as designer of her own line, was known for her directional, artsy style.

Edwards is aiming high with Xterity, which is on its second season and debuted at September's London Fashion Week. "Xterity is a luxury brand. We offer ready-to-wear, specialising in fit, quality and fabric, with British quirkiness," he says. "I would love to be the British equivalent of Valentino, doing classic luxury very well." But here's the disconnect. Since when did the world of demi-couture mix with the demi-monde of TV talent shows?

"We decided to work with The X Factor because it highlights some of the things we can do best," says Edwards. "You get four days to make the contestants' garments from scratch, but because we have a couture service and an in-house team, we could do it. I get so many e-mails saying, 'I love the dress that Beverly wore. I want it.' It was all about getting our brand out there and highlighting what we do.

" The X Factor has such a diverse audience and everyone's got an opinion," he adds, referring to the programme's "water- cooler quotient" - its ability to get people talking. Indeed, it often seems style snobbery has no place in today's fashion hierarchy, where Jennifer Lopez can model for Louis Vuitton and preened-to-overperfection Victoria Beckham is about to be featured in a campaign for Marc Jacobs, a label usually associated with quirky hipsters such as movie director Sofia Coppola.

But how much longevity does a brand that produces made-to-measure garments hope to generate through dressing talent-show contestants, whose time in the spotlight can often be fleeting? Edwards' spin is that he sees The X Factor contestants as celebrities-in-waiting, citing the rocketing career of the show's last winner, Leona Lewis. Lewis's debut single broke a world record last December after it was downloaded 50,000 times within 30 minutes. She has now graduated to posing in high fashion style for glossy magazines.

"Theoretically, The X Factor's winner could become a superstar," says Edwards. "Look at Leona and how amazing she looks wearing Roberto Cavalli in Harper's Bazaar. Working with the contestants now, they'll remember us and hopefully come back to us. Celebrities are very important to a fashion brand. We are a celebrity nation: a nation that says, 'What's she wearing? I want that.'"

But if we accept the idea that influence has changed somewhat, and now wannabe stars aren't copying their idols with high- street interpretations of style but are getting their own high fashion treatment, the question is: who's going to be emulating The X Factor contestants? A red- top newspaper recently ran a feature detailing the contestants' outfits with high-street versions of the looks but, says Edwards, "It was nothing like what we did because you just can't buy our items on the high street." So is Xterity actually reaching out to its true consumer base - The X Factor TV audience - by dressing the show's almost-stars, especially considering the £300-£5,500 pricing for its ready-to-wear?

"People are learning about luxury from celebrities," says Mulligan, who believes there's such a strong interest in luxury right now that it's driving the development of a mass consumer who is more educated about quality and who desires unique items. "High- street fashion is a false economy, and it doesn't last more than a season."

So is Xterity trying to teach the masses that high fashion can be for them, when many still can't afford it? "We're showing how we can transform real women, not models," explains Mulligan. "I see the contestants transform each week and their confidence builds up. That's what clothing is all about."

If they can get on TV, anyone can be a star; if they can afford it, anyone can wear high fashion. It's the same dream we have always lived, updated for the voyeuristic age of reality TV.

Source: Financial Times

[Jackie]

Yes i supose it does promote clothes and fashion because the "models" are real people and are of different shape and sizes.