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Online shop which copies celebrity fashions doubles sales in a year
Last updated at 09:22am on 01.05.07An insatiable hunger to copy celebrity icons ranging from Cameron Diaz to Kylie Minogue and Sienna Miller has brought a profits boom for fashion websites.
The website Asos.com, which specialises in items that are identical to those worn by the rich and famous, revealed an 111per cent increase in sales.
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ASOS collection favourites: a Ted Baker Eva Silk Leaf Print Dress (£140) as seen on Desperate Housewives' star Eva Longoria and a white Puffball Dress in the style of Victoria Beckham, £30
More than two million women wannabes - mostly aged 18 to 34 - visited its website in March alone.
Asos - formerly known as As Seen On Screen - unashamedly offers a collection of clothes which mirror items worn by style icons.
Where it cannot offer the exact match, there is a host of dresses, bikinis and even bags, shoes and make-up which are "in the style of" a host of celebrity women.
Apart from matching the style of the rich and famous, Asos and others in the same area, cash in because many of the outfits are so cheap as to be virtually disposable.
There is a vast range of party dresses selling for as little as £30 or £35.
Bestsellers: the Mina Sienna Mini Dress (left), which is a genuine version of a dress worn by Sienna Miller and sells for £55 and the Kate Printed Maxi Dress in the style of Kate Moss, £38
The opportunity to follow the fashion trends set by Mischa Barton, Victoria Beckham, Lindsay Lohan, Kate Moss, is generating massive sales.
ASOS, which serves 18 to 34-year-olds with fashion items similar to those worn by celebrities, posted sales of £38.4 million for the 12 months to March 31.
While the company is predicting year on year growth for this year of a staggering 80per cent at a time when conventional high street fashion stores are struggling.
Current best sellers include a Mina Sienna Mini Dress, which is a genuine version of a dress worn by the actress Sienna Miller.
The dress with slightly puffed capped sleeves with a foldover neckline and lace edging is £55.
The collection includes a £90 French Connection Sequin Trim Silk Dress as seen on Mischa Barton and a full length Ted Baker Eva Silk Leaf Print Dress as seen on Eva Longoria, from the hit US series Desperate Housewives.
Among the items which are "in the style of" a celebrity equivalent is a £15 Coconut & Stone Trim Bikini as worn by Cameron Diaz.
There is also a backless Puffball Dress in the style of Victoria Beckham at £30 and cropped wrap-over Mac in the style of Kylie Minogue for £55.
Asos is at the heart of a completely new fashion trend, tapping into a fascination for celebrity and desire to copy the rich and famous.
The same phenomenon has sparked the launch of a clutch of celebrity magazines featuring snatched pictures of the world's most famous women at parties, premieres and on the street.
These images have provided the inspiration for copycat fashion websites such as Asos. The Asos name is now so well known that young women will visit its website more often than they would a high street outlet.
In fact, the company's bosses believe they are actively stealing business from traditional bricks and mortar stores.
Asos has launched its own magazine to feed and further inspire the copycat culture. The May edition includes Kylie Minogue on the cover
The co-founder and chief executive of Asos, Nick Robertson, said: "We are benefiting from a fair wind from online retailing in general, with the consensus expecting 30-40per cent market growth this year, but we can get up to 80per cent with an increased investment in marketing and the celebrity fashion magazine.
"A magazine packed with the latest fashion news and trends is the perfect medium to reinforce our celebrity fashion credentials."
Mr Robertson said: "The overall fashion market is not growing to any great degree, so as we grow it will start to hurt others."
He said he was unconcerned about this week's high profile launch of the Kate Moss-designed clothing range for Topshop.
"It's an interesting play - good luck to them," he said.
"Topshop sales will be phenomenal over the coming days - its a celebrity endorsed model and she's the biggest celebrity, but they happen a lot in this industry."
Next week, the singer Lily Allen will be launching a rival collection which she says will be for real women with curves through New Look.
