How HSN Vendor Liz Lange Spends Sundays

Want to know how HSN vendors spend their time when they’re not hawking their wares on the home shopping network? Well, fashion designer Liz Lange spilled the beans on her weekends in The New York Times’ “Sunday Routine” weekly column.

The 48-year-old has rented a “famed” East Hampton estate Grey Gardens this summer, and is spending long weekends there away from steamy Manhattan with her lawyer fiance, her kids and their Goldendoodle, according to The Times.

Perhaps surprisingly, Lange didn’t plug her HSN collection, but did mention her maternity line for Target.

http://www.hsn.com/shop/liz-lange/7263?query=Liz%20Lange&isSuggested=False&

“Maybe Target customers, who we call ‘guests,’ maybe they have questions,” Lange told The Times. “I love to answer them all personally.”

http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=Liz+Lange&category=0|All|matchallpartial|all+categories&lnk=snav_sbox_Liz+Lange

The story says that Lange sold her own maternity-wear business in 2007. Guess that’s how she can afford that Hampton rental!

She says her favorite eatery is Sette Mezzo, and that on Sunday eves at 10 p.m. she binge-watches TV movies on Lifetime and Hallmark Channel. Now that’s a damning confession.

Whitney Port Brings Low-Priced Clothing Line To QVC

We used to think we were up-to-date on popular culture, but doing this blog often shows us that it’s not the case. In other words, another celeb we’ve never heard of is doing a clothing line for a home shopping network.

Whitney Port and one of her QVC designs

In this case, it’s designer Whitney Port, described as a former star of “The Hill,” doing a low-priced collection for QVC.

http://www.qvc.com/CatalogSearch?langId=-1&storeId=10251&catalogId=10151&keyword=Whitney+port

E! online did a story about the young blonde’s QVC items, touting them as all under $60. That’s a lot cheaper than the high-priced Whitney Eve line that Port has.

http://www.eonline.com/news/679587/exclusive-first-look-whitney-port-gets-back-to-basics-with-new-qvc-collection

Here’s what QVC.com has to say about Port:

Fashion designer Whitney Port has mastered effortless, feminine California style with a little New York City edge — a look and a lifestyle that is the perfect definition of her youthful, fun, and eclectic collection, aptly named Whitney Port.

Feel fantastic in colorful, contemporary silhouettes like casual dresses, cozy sweaters, tailored pants, and flirty skirts that become your essential statement pieces.

Michelle Obama Designer Jason Wu’s Line Of Digital Cameras (Yes, That’s Right) Will Debut On HSN Friday

Michelle Obama in Jason Wu's gown

Hot fashion designer Jason Wu got national headlines when First Lady Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses to the Inaugural balls last year. Now, he’s designing electronics, and HSN will be featuring his cameras in a show Friday.

It seems that Wu struck a deal with General Imaging, the exclusive licensee of GE branded digital cameras, to “style” a collection of digital cameras under the name “Create by Jason Wu.”

We guess it was only a matter of time before fashion designers would be asked to put their touch on one of the only categories that is selling these days: Consumer electronics.

Here’s General Imaging’s hype on Wu’s work for it.

“Create is an exclusive line of digital cameras resulting from the unique collaboration between General Imaging, the company behind GE branded digital cameras, and Jason Wu, the 27-year-old designer who has claimed the international fashion spotlight, dressing celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Diane Kruger and Natalie Portman.”

According to General Imaging, “Create seamlessly blends Jason Wu’s rich sense of style with the latest digital camera technology. The camera features simple, one-touch operation to record videos, take pictures and easily delete photos.”

The press release says the cameras will be available in April for $179.99. But HSN is already selling one model online for $200.

Just last week Wu appeared with the First Lady at the Smithsonian National Museum, meeting her for the first time, when the dress he did for the Inauguration was installed in the American First Ladies Collection.

Michelle Obama put Wu, a little-known 26-year-old designer, on the map when she wore a white, one-shouldered gown he designed for her to the Inaugural festivities The gown looked somewhat like a wedding dress, and frankly, we didn’t like it. We didn’t think it flattered the First Lady’s fabulous figure. It made her look chunky in the tummy area.

News Flash: Philadelphia Inquirer Discovers That QVC Sells More Than Cubic Zirconia

The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday broke the big scoop that high-end designers have made their way to QVC because of its “sales clout.” Yes, the consumer press finally got a clue.

We did a huge blog on that topic for Thanksgiving, and have written many other blogs about why big-name designers like Badgley Mischka, Vivienne Tam, Robert Lee Morris, Judith Ripka and Stephen Dweck — whose wares can be found at shops like Neiman Marcus — now have lines for QVC and HSN.

The story, by Inquirer fashion writer Elizabeth Wellington, is headlined “Fashion Fete’s Eyes on QVC: Sales Clout Turns Heads in New York.”

The story talks about QVC telecasting live from Fashion Week in Manhattan again this year, and how “the seller people used to go to for Grandma’s holiday sweater” is now “a major industry player” in the fashion world.

That’s because designers have discovered a rather simple fact, one that snobs who look down their nose at home shopping channels, have yet to grasp: You can make a hell of a lot more money selling thousands of items an hour on QVC than selling just a few costly items in a brick-and-mortar store.

The story quotes Doug Howe, QVC’s chief merchandising officer, as well as the QVC vendors celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal and fashion designer Bradley Bayou.

Roncal told the Inquirer she once sold 20,000 eyeliners in eight minutes on QVC (we use her mascara).

Bayou is quoted as saying he was skeptical when QVC first approached him. He hopped on board.

“When you show couture, you sell maybe 10 to 20 pieces (a season), but when you show on QVC, you can sell 1,000 pieces in an hour,” Bayou told the Inquirer.

The newspaper also reported that QVC rival HSN, those sly pusses, will have a breakfast in New York to show off its new spring fashions in a couple of weeks.

QVC Fashion Designer Susan Graver Struts Out Her First Jewelry For The Network

QVC’s in-house fashion designer for two decades, Susan Graver, debuted her first jewelry for the home shopping network last night. It’s a faceted emerald cut necklace and earring set, only $24, and is a Today’s Special Value Extra.

Graver has a Thursday’s Today’s Special Value, which is a cardigan with georgette trim and matching tank. The damage? It’s $39.

On QVC’s forums, reaction was mixed at Graver’s first attempt at jewelry. Some online posters compared the necklace favorably to Joan Rivers’ QVC jewelry line, and others worried about the quality and workmanship of the Graver pieces.

Designer Isaac Mizrahi’s New QVC Lifestyle Line Is Online, And He’s On The Air From His Studio Saturday Night

QVC has high hopes for Isaac Mizrahi’s line, with CEO Mike George predicting it will be the home shopping channel’s biggest hit.

We caught a bit of the fashion designer on “Posh in the Park” Friday night, when Mizrahi appeared with host Lisa Robertson. We interviewed him years ago, and on the air he seemed charming and at ease.

Saturday night at 8 p.m. QVC will officially launch his show, “Issac Mizrahi Live!,” from a studio installed in his work space in Manhattan.

QVC has all of Mizrahi’s products online now, and they include apparel, accessories, jewelry, handbags, shoes, food and housewares.

The jewelry and shoes didn’t do much for us, but we loved the plates with a bow ribbon design and a dress he had with a T-shirt-type top with a fancy silk print bottom.

Fashionista Isaac Mizrahi Dishes To New York Daily News About The Plaid Cheesecake He’s Doing With Junior’s For QVC

Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi debuts on QVC Dec. 4, and Seventh Avenue is all abuzz.

Mizrahi, who has taken to wearing a silly scarf on his head, will be bringing premium apparel, accessories, housewares and cheesecake to West Chester, Pa. Yes, that’s right, cheesecake.

In a Q-and-A in the New York Daily News Sunday, Mizrahi says he “is doing a collaboration” with world famous Junior’s  cheesecake. The result is a cake “with a plaid fondant top,” he tells the News. 

We know what plaid is, but we have no idea from “fondant” is. Anyway, Mizrahi already gave Women’s Wear Daily the scoop on his QVC stuff. And WWD has a photo of the tartan plaid cheesecake.

Mizrahi also told the News that he had whipped up some chocolate tuille cookies for QVC, but they couldn’t be successfully shipped. The designer said that QVC is going back to the drawing baord to try to find the right recipe that will make the cookies pass the shipping test.

Apart from his upcoming appearances on QVC, Mizrahi is also a reality TV star, featured on Bravo’s “The Fashion Show.”

Hellooooo! Fashion Designer Wayne Scot Lukas Is Back On ShopNBC, Prepare For Him To Shake Up The Hosts

One of our favorite refugee vendors who made the move from HSN to ShopNBC is fashion designer Wayne Scot Lukas. And absence he has several shows on the No. 3 home shopping channel Thursday.

Tune in.

Lukas, who often mentions his beloved mom in our state of New Jersey, is a pistol. He often had HSN host Colleen Lopez in stitches with his remarks during his Lukastyle presentations.

He speaks his mind and can be bitchy, complaining about the camera work on ShopNBC the last time we saw him. Lukas also makes loads of double entendres that shake up some hosts, and he is pretty open about his sexual orientation (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Irregardless, he’s a hot guy, although we liked him better with long hair.

He does lots of knitwear in his collection, and has new pieces in for this visit. We looked for video on ShopNBC’s Web site from his 2 a.m. show, and found none. Maybe his commentary was too racy to put up on the site.

We’ll try to catch him later to hear him say his favorite catchword: “Hello.”

QVC In-House Clothing Designer Susan Graver Set To Launch Jewelry Line

QVC’s in-house fashion designer Susan Graver is doing a jewelry line for the network that is set to debut next month.

According to poster to QVC’s online forums, Graver will debut her jewelry Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve.

Graver’s apparel is a mixed bag. We find some items great and fresh, like this velvet skirt, and others look frumpy and out-of-date. We don’t like a lot of the synthetics she uses.

Graver herself is a bouncy, sweet, upbeat personality, someone you’d like as your BFF.

QVC’s Web site says that Graver “finds herself drawn to vibrant patterns and colors. Specialty fabrics, tasteful embellishments, and flattering silhouettes also come into play. Perhaps the best part of Susan’s signature collection is how it makes you feel polished and put together. Easy care, easy wear — that’s Susan Graver Style.”