Especially due to pop artist Billie Eillish’s recent rise to fame after her album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, her brother Finneas O’ Connel has been succeeding in his career as well. Even as an independent artist, he often plays guitar and does back-up vocals at her concerts and attends her interviews to support her. Billie is commonly seen being silly and playful with her brother on her Snapchat stories, and of course, their fans are gung-ho over the sibling cuteness. Finneas’s girlfriend, influencer and popular youtuber Claudia Suleweski, received popularity from this as well. She is an advocate for sustainability and modern fashion, often posting clothing hauls and travel vlogs on her channel. Finneas is in many of her videos, especially the travel vlogs, and also releases many songs directly about her such as “Claudia.” Both their fans have high admiration for the couple’s devotion. 

Claudia’s popularity has been skyrocketing so much that recently she has collaborated with mainstream retail chain Nordstrom BP to create her own clothing line. It was released on August 21 for Nordy members (Nordstrom members who receive exclusive benefits), and for everyone else on the next day. The collection is size-inclusive, offering plus sizes, and is an arrangement of tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, and accessories. Sulewski has been promoting her products in her Instagram posts the past few weeks to get her fans excited and news pages such as Vogue have been adding to the anticipation:

.

But the question remains: is the line as exciting and fresh as she and her fans in the comments claim?

The collection is definitely inclusive and modern, appealing to 2019 trends such as leopard print, colorblock, and biker shorts. However, there is nothing too extravagant about the items and very similar pieces can be found in any popular clothing shop such as Urban Outfitters, Brandy Melville, or Instagram brands such as Motel Rocks and Princess Polly. Even fast fashion brands like Forever 21 and Shein sell very similar or even identical designs. To those who are updated with brands and are informed fashionistas, Sulewski’s line is nothing new. Here are examples of items in her collaboration with Nordstrom and their prices:

($59)

($29)

($29)

Most can look at these pictures and agree that these designs are not exceptionally creative and simply follow templates of what is currently being sold in many other clothing stores. Some upsides to this collection are that it is relatively affordable, especially for a retailer like Nordstrom – which is what many critics have mentioned – however, when considering the unoriginality of the designs, they are still not worth purchasing unless someone has money to blow for their favorite Youtuber. This is her first clothing line and first time designing clothing, however, so there is plenty potential for Suleweski to be more ambitious in her following projects.