Where is bebe made

Plus, it was an easy sell to the parents who were skeptical of overspending—or spending at all—on a sequined snakeskin-print tank for their year-old. Alas, the glory days of Bebe are long gone and the retailer is flailing. Its goal is to close each door by the end of the month but maintain an e-commerce platform in an effort to sidestep filing for bankruptcy.

How far the mighty have fallen. One of the most important developments in the fashion industry, particularly in high fashion, was the increasingly involved relationship between individual celebrities and clothing labels in the s. In couture, a celebrity could make a certain name a household word almost overnight, particularly if she wore the label to a highly publicized event such as the Academy Awards or Emmy Awards ceremonies.

For less expensive brands, which relied primarily on a mass consumer market, such exposure was considered desirable, but not entirely necessary, for increased sales. As opposed to courting celebrities with deep pockets, chain stores focused more on well-designed advertising campaigns that could reach and identify with as many consumers as possible.

In , after its initial national growth, bebe took the unusual step of actively seeking out name recognition through not only its print advertising campaigns, but through celebrity exposure as well.

The reasoning behind taking such a step was simple: if the label was seen on the same stars with whom bebe's primary targeted customer base could identify, the label itself would become associated with those stars, and the glamorous image those celebrities symbolized. Such an association would make the company's name almost automatically more appealing to a huge consumer base, with sales reflecting that appeal.

In a phenomenally successful television show called "Melrose Place" showcased several young, attractive television stars whose distinctive wardrobes were being mimicked across the nation. In one of the show's episodes that year, its main star, Heather Locklear, wore an outfit by bebe, and thus began an indirect but potent advertising campaign for the company that was, in the long run, to prove more powerful for bebe's sales than the most artfully constructed traditional ads could ever have achieved.

After bebe's appearance on 'Melrose Place' the label began showing up on other celebrities, all of whom appealed to the same sort of customer the company was trying to attract. The trend of presenting labels on specific television shows continued as well, with bebe's wares making regular appearances on such shows as 'Party of Five,' 'Beverly Hills ,' 'The Practice,' and 'Ally McBeal.

The skirt was by bebe, and orders for it went up around the country immediately after the program was aired. Like any advertising campaign, the courting of a star by a clothing company had to be strategic and shrewdly planned.

Bebe, in other words, was not about to send shipments to Roseanne; the young and fashionable Halle Berry, however, could have free choice of the company's inventory. This sort of planning forced bebe to know not only the sartorial preferences of its customers, but also the stars, films, and television shows they admired and wished to imitate.

No longer was bebe confined to considerations specific only to the retail industry; the company had become by the late s an active part of the entertainment industry as well. Unlike high fashion and bridge labels like Donna Karan or Ralph Lauren, bebe was not an innovator when it came to designs and trends.

Instead, the key to the company's success was found in its ability to quickly and accurately mimic and expand upon key styles from season to season. Follow us on. Quick navigation Fashion News Latest Articles.

The women's clothing and accessories retailer said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it would move to close all of its stores by the end of next month. It also plans to liquidate all its merchandise and store furnishings. Bebe, which had stores at the end of last year, was founded by Iranian-born immigrant Manny Mashouf in It become known for its skimpy women's clothing and relied heavily on product placement on TV shows like Ally McBeal.

Mashouf, who met his wife when she walked into a Bebe store, took the company public in He and his family were briefly billionaires in at the height of the company's success. Yet, the California-based company has been struggling to resonate with female shoppers and has lost money for the last four consecutive years.