Russian Teen Prodigy Kira Plastinina to close all U.S. Store

[blackrose]

My eyes hurt from viewing the collection http://www.kiraplastinina.ua/jingle_bells.html Cheesy and tacky clothes. I don't get why the media attaches the word prodigy to her name.

 

[loladonna]

I probably shouldn't have used the word "prodigy" in the title. That was the best word I could come up with to match the media hype.

Apparently her dad paid Nicole Richie $150,000 recently to fly to Russia and promote Kira's line.

 

[Zposen]

^Not suprising ...

Did you read anywhere how much she paid Audrina to be her brand ambassador in the US? From my understanding she was supposed to wear the clothes out and about as well as on the show... Audrina did neither.

 

[stateofbliss]

^ I don't think Audrina commands that much for endorsements, etc. I highly doubt she got paid 1/3 of what Nicole Richie did.

I first heard about this girl when she had her first fashion show and paid Paris Hilton $1 mil (supposedly) to attend. I get that her father is a billionaire, but he shouldn't be throwing away $$$ like that.

I can't imagine anyone over the age of 12 would purchase clothes from her line. I walked by her Soho store when I was in NYC and it was empty.

 

[loladonna]

^Not suprising ...

Did you read anywhere how much she paid Audrina to be her brand ambassador in the US? From my understanding she was supposed to wear the clothes out and about as well as on the show... Audrina did neither.

When your clothes are too tacky for Audrina from the Hills you know they're bad.

 

[saucer-like]

I get that her father is a billionaire, but he shouldn't be throwing away $$$ like that.

My thoughts exactly. Even for a billionaire, $80 million seems like a rather excessive amount to sink into your child's whims. Especially ones that do not have an expected "return" -- in this case, literally a monetary profit.

 

[Trista]

Why am I not surprised...I saw her MTV special and honestly it was nothing special. I wouldn't pay those prices to wear most of that stuff.

 

[lepip]

i think its sad when anybody's dream is over. especially so publicly.
i guess that's what happens when paris hilton endorses your brand

 

[loladonna]

Why am I not surprised...I saw her MTV special and honestly it was nothing special. I wouldn't pay those prices to wear most of that stuff.

I wonder if her dad paid for the MTV special? I remember thinking it was wierd and random for MTV to do a special when no one in American knew who she was.

 

[112fan]

When your clothes are too tacky for Audrina from the Hills you know they're bad.

soo true...but i also agree that its pretty ridiculous for her dad to have invested so much money into this...from the premature openings of over a dozen US stores, to paying for celebs to attend her shows and store opening, to getting audrina of all people to endorse the line...i mean its one think to believe in and support your daughter and its another to make irrational and stupid business decisions

 

[Street_a_Licious]

i do believe they're making profit. just not in the US. noone looks up to a daughter of a russian billionaire. the case might be different in Russia and wherever she's successful.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

this story just sounds too weird like it could be on ugly betty!

 

[homeboy]

I think the failure is due to unwarranted expansion. They went a little bit too crazy on opening up stores in the US because of some media attention here and there. high optimism in combination with Daddy wanting to make her little princess happy.

Now when the fairytale has come to and end they got a taste of how it really is to run a clothing empire.

 

[leyla m.]

prodigy?

this girl and dad were just seeing too big. if you have 70 stores already, you should keep it as that. this over eagerness in some people baffles me. greed to always want more more more without having a smart business plan doesnt lead anywhere. proof!

 

[lucy92]

kira plastinina bought a lot of advertorials in teen vogue. did anyone notice?

apparently, "fast fashion"was a misnomer, according to some of the reports ive read from NY, they hardly ever replaced the clothes in store. maybe the initial stuff hardly sold...

 

[lollicandy]

^Yes, and it was off-putting to see it everywhere.

They overexpanded without developing a real base of customers. The clothing was hideous, and frankly I don't think teens and pre-teens want to dress like that. Kids want to look more grown up than this pink stuff. I would go even younger than pre-teen. If Plastinina had been around in the mid to late 90s I think the younger crowd would have flocked to their stores. But seriously, everything about this was so unappealing and dated, the clothing, the "heiress" thing. It's like they were at least 10 years too late.

 

[MynameisGreg]

saw her at Teen vogue fashion U and honestly, she is so awful, her daddy's russian mafia money bought her anything she wanted including those god awful clothes that look like they came from a bargain basement forever 21, it serves them right for trying to bombard the us market, she will be fine, it's true US retailers who actually sell good product that I am worried about

 

[GasolineRainbow]

I thought I'd had my say on this, but then I came across these pictures, which bring a whole new dimension to light:

www.legitgov.org

Now, I'm not saying that the way the KP brand treated its workers is in any way justified, but emphasizing the Russian/American division is also wrong. Most Russians are very poor, and some would argue have also been robbed by Russian oligarchs like Plastinin. In any case an entire nation is not responsible for the stupidity of one family.

Most importantly, Americans practically invented the concept of global brands. How much of what we wear, eat, drive etc. is from the USA? Americans or citizens of any country sure wouldn't like it if people in other countries said, don't buy this because it's American (or such and such - any nation really). It's totally hypocritical and practically racist.

 

[lollicandy]

^We're in a recession right now in the US. Personally, I have had 2 members of my immediate family laid off. People here are hurting too, maybe not to the same extent in Russia but obviously they are making a play for the sympathy of fellow Americans on the street so they don't shop there. I mean these people all got fired around Christmas. I don't see how they're racist, the sign seems to be talking about how money is leaving American shores not that they hate Russians...actually some people are saying they want to buy American or European etc. and not from certain countries (China, India for example) but that's a whole other discussion...

But I think the last line is a little dramatic.

 

[DandyWarhol]

why am i not surprised..