The first Kira Plastinina store opened in Manhattan in May amid a pink blaze of fanfare and sparkling names, accompanied by the incessant use of labels like "wunderkind" and "phenom" in media coverage. The teen, who appears in many of her line's ads, recruited Audrina Patridge of the MTV reality show "The Hills" as a brand ambassador. It-girls such as actress Hayden Panettiere flitted through Plastinina's L.A. launch party and "Sweet 16" bash as R&B crooner Chris Brown performed.
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A trend Russian teen designer Kira Plastinina didn't see coming
A rough economy and belt-tightening shoppers force the Moscow teen queen's U.S. chain to file for Chapter 7 seven months after its debut. The chain had plans to open 250 stores in the U.S.
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Paris Hilton sat in the front row of one of Plastinina's fashion shows. The Moscow high school student spent the summer hobnobbing in Malibu.
On Plastinina's pink-rimmed MySpace page, sprinkled with photos of her in a voluminous pleated white dress and posing with celebrities, she discusses her desire to be a role model for teens.
"I've been working really hard, and am very proud of myself for keeping my determination and being able to work and accomplish so much at my young age," she wrote.
But retail experts said the hoopla over her collection quickly died down, making the brand vulnerable to competition. Plastinina's location at the Americana at Brand closed just after a Kitson store, notorious for a similar concept of fashion lines designed by high-profile names, opened in late November.
Part of the problem was that bigger homegrown stars like Hilton and Jessica Simpson already commanded much of the celebrity design market, said Betty Chen, a research analyst with Wedbush Morgan. And by striking out on her own, Plastinina lacked the security net of a major chain to distribute her designs even as aspiring fashionistas like singer Avril Lavigne and model Elizabeth Hurley paired with retailers such as Kohl's and Mango.
"Earlier in the year, people were quite excited that she was so young and yet starting out on her own," Chen said. "But the momentum kind of died, and now people are not going to spend more money just because of a celebrity name."
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tiffany.hsu@latimes.com
