'You got to be quick with streetwear drops': Justin Bieber's new clothing line sells out
Drew House features a range of unisex styles — as long as you like beige, corduroy
Kanye West has Yeezy.
Beyoncé has Ivy Park.
Now, Justin Bieber fans can clothe themselves in Drew House.
Bieber has launched a new fashion label built around the Canadian musician's middle name.
The Drew House site features a rainbow of chunky, beige-coloured corduroy clothing.
For a $138 US, fans can own a pair of corduroy shorts with the word "Drew" embroidered on their crotch. That is, if the item wasn't sold out.
As of this writing, every item — the Drew tees, the "Chaz Corduroy Pullover" and the camel-coloured pants — remain sold out.
Fashion correspondent and TV host Joe Zee isn't surprised.
"You got to be quick with streetwear drops."
Justin certainly knows that world really really well. It's not expensive and it's limited. I can already see that his fan base is going to want that.- Fashion correspondent and TV host Joe Zee
He says the idea of doing drops, where a limited number of items are for sale, is common.
"Justin certainly knows that world really really well. It's not expensive and it's limited. I can already see that his fan base is going to want that."
CBC News reached out to Drew House representatives and Bieber's management and received no response. While CBC News cannot confirm Bieber's role in the company, the musician has been photographed wearing the apparel, and Drew-branded items have shown up on his Instagram account and that of his new wife, Hailey.
Zee says there were early signs of Bieber's fashion acumen. He points out the strong sales for the Bieber's Purpose tour clothing line: "As a musical touring artist he changed the idea, making concert merchandise much more desirable."
'The scumbro aesthetic'
For the Bieber brand, there's a late '90s skate culture influence, according to Isabel Slone, the features editor for Fashion magazine.
She sees the caramel-coloured casual wear as "a good distillation of the scumbro aesthetic."
First coined by Vanity Fair, the scumbro look, Slone says, has been popularized by celebrities such as Bieber, Jonah Hill and Pete Davidson.
"It's kind of what peacocking has become in 2019 because of the rise of [athletic leisure wear]."
As soon as you're done selling yourself, you have to sell something.- Fashion magazine features editor Isabel Slone
With Drew House Bieber joins Sean Combs, Rihanna and Victoria Beckham as the latest in a growing line of musicians leveraging their fame to move into the fashion industry.
Slone says launching a line is natural.
"You know, he recently got married. Maybe he thinks that he wants to settle down. Maybe he doesn't want to go on tour for a while. As soon as you're done selling yourself, you have to sell something."
Celebrity competition
While Slone doesn't see Drew House's neo-grunge look as competition for high-end labels such as Balenciaga, Canadian designer Hayley Elsaesser isn't thrilled about the competition.
The fact that someone like Justin Bieber can do whatever he wants and kind of dominate is frustrating, and we all know that there's a designer behind the scenes that isn't getting the recognition.- Canadian designer Hayley Elsaesser
"The fact that someone like Justin Bieber can do whatever he wants and kind of dominate is frustrating. And we all know that there's a designer behind the scenes that isn't getting the recognition."
While she says the world doesn't need more fashion labels, Elsaesser does appreciate that the Drew House styles are unisex and claim to be ethically made in Los Angeles.
Although Elsaesser does find it funny that, while there are a wide range of sizes available, all the models appear to be a size small.
As to whether the fashion industry is ready to embrace Drew House, Zee says it's a very insular industry.
"They really just celebrate each other. Look at someone like Victoria Beckham. She is just celebrating 10 years of being in business, and it took her probably that long to gain the respect of the industry."
Meanwhile, what concerns designer Elsaesser is the colour.
"I really hope that beige doesn't become a huge trend for next season," she says.