Discussion: Are Brands Like Fashion Nova and House of CB More Relevant than Runway?

As Fashion Week marches on in Milan (and goes to Paris next week), I can’t help but wonder: what’s the big whoop? Let’s be clear: I am a fashion enthusiast, and covered the shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris for 8 seasons. But as I watch with glazed eyes at publicity stunts (Alice in Ghetto Land, anyone?), break dancing, and peacocking, I sometimes wonder is it really relevant in today’s fashion climate?

Yes, we can look at Gucci and point to their red/green trimmed pieces, and sometimes we’ll catch the uber wealthy like Marjorie Harvey in a full runway look (the Lady Loves Couture!). But increasingly we’re seeing the very wealthy wear everything from runway to House of CB and My Style Mode, with pieces ringing in around $100.

Fashion Nova has 5.3 million followers on Instagram, and has scores of celebrity spokespeople, including Nicki Minaj (who has also posed for Roberto Cavalli).

The list of celebrity clientele for House of CB reads like a who’s who of Hollywood. Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Gigi Hadid, the Kardashian/Jenners and many more have worn their affordable dresses on multiple occasions.

Of course we know that fashion trickles down. Before House of CB started creating its own original designs, it was known to primarily house Herve Leger knock offs. And even now, you can see inspirations from Balmain.


And high fashion has its place on red carpets. But increasingly, we’re also seeing people wear House of CB on the red carpet.

So what do you think? Are brands like Zara, Topshop, Missguided, Boohoo, House of CB, and Fashion Nova more relevant in today’s fashion climate?