The "Sharon Tate" brand

[Deleted]

I was wondering what Sharon fans would think about Sharon Tate becoming a posthumous brand similar to Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Elvis and various other entertainers. Sharon was not as well-known as someone like Elvis or Marilyn during her lifetime, but she was a legitimate star (regardless of what some might say). What would you think about Sharon apparel, makeup, DVDs, dolls, posters, books and other merchandise? I think it would be great if the a portion of the proceeds from the products went to a victim's rights charity. I know Debra has things in the works (even though she gets criticized for trying to benefit off of her sister's name) such as a fashion line.

What are your thoughts?

[Deleted]

Well, I really hate for any celebrity to become a "brand". I think it dehumanizes them. Once a celebrity like Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley becomes a brand, it's like people, or the general public, forget that they were human beings who actually existed and start to think of them as objects and that really disgusts me. But it's the fans, people like us, who keep their memory alive in a positive way; who DON'T think of people like Marilyn or Sharon as objects and that's great.

And I think the merchandise that comes with that "legend" status is pretty neat. I think those things help fans like us to celebrate their lives and work. Although some of the merchandise we as fans come across can be really weird or creepy or just downright inappropriate and disrespectful, but most of it is lovely.

In Sharon's case, things like books and magazines may seem inappropriate or disrespectful to Sharon's memory because they're usually about Manson and not really about Sharon. But things like her films on DVD, dolls, posters, clothing, etc. is generally very lovely and if the profits to a charity, I think that's even better! What I really can't stand is when a deceased celebrity's already wealthy estate tries to make even more profit off of the celebrity's name (something the Marilyn Monroe estate is notorious for )

But as long as that kind of merchandise is respectful of the Sharon and is used to celebrate her life and her work, then I think it's lovely for her fans to get a change to own that merchandise and share in their admiration of her.

...And personally, I would love love LOVE to see a Sharon Tate clothing line (that was actually inspired...or even better, exact replicas of clothing Sharon wore ). Sharon had such great style and a lot of her outfits fit right in with today's clothing styles. If they made a Sharon clothing line, I'd buy up every piece!

[Deleted]

I would love it!!!

[Kristen]

I think it all depends upon the quality of the items, and the items themselves, that could potentially end up on the market.

Marilyn and Elvis are thrown onto some of the tackiest things imaginable. To me, it seems idiotic that Marilyn's name and likeness appears on hair care products and cosmetics--because nobody can confirm that she ever would have endorsed those products in life. I absolutely hate whenever a deceased celebrity's name and/or likeness is used to sell products that weren't even around before they died. How can they say that Marilyn would have enjoyed the scent of that particular mousse? Or that she would have worn that shade of blush?

I don't see how a Sharon cosmetics line could really emerge. Considering that in her daily life, she didn't really wear much makeup and her favorite thing to wear on her lips was Vaseline. I could see eye makeup potentially coming out, because she did create a very distictive look with how she did her eyes. If cosmetics come out, they need to be based upon what Sharon actually wore.

Posters and prints are already available from various places, they aren't directly tied to Debra though.

I 100% think that a Sharon DVD box set should be released. Eye of The Devil and Don't Make Waves only recently became available on DVD. 12+1 has still not seen an official DVD release, which is a shame. On, I belive, Italian iTunes you can find a good copy--except it's dubbed in Italian, so you never hear her voice. Modcinema.com sells copies of the undubbed version--but the picture quality is iffy. It's a film that deserves a remaster and official re-release.

I'd also love to see some dolls come out as well, as long as they ACTUALLY look like Sharon. Dolls based on her characters would look fantastic. They could also make ones that were based on looks she had in her regular life (the wedding, premieres, etc.). There are some artists out there who have crafted some great dolls based on Sharon, so it's not an impossible task.

The idea of an apparel line is fascinating, because it could range from t-shirts and jeans to stylish evening wear. Sharon's tastes included an incredible range of different things. Based on photographs as well as clothing that Debra still owns, some very interesting things could be created.

It's a tricky kind of thing though. At what point do you cross the line from celebrating her life, to just having that one little product that just takes it a tad too far and potentially cheapens the other things that have already been made? You want to make her fans happy, but you also don't want to take a step into tacky territory. At the end of the day it's a very fine line.

There's Elvis Presley popcorn and cocoa. I don't want to see Sharon Tate popcorn and cocoa.

[Jay]

@kristen I agree, and I wish a box set of Sharon's movies would be released.
In my opinion, the quality of the items depends entirely upon the motivation behind their release; if profit is the sole motivator, the items will definitely be cheap and tacky. If the motivation is a labor of love, then the items will probably be meaningful and of higher quality. I've seen a couple pretty realistic dolls by artists that were obviously done out of great love and devotion.