Whoopi Goldberg, EGOT winner, is a woman of many passions and talents. She’s a champion of women’s health, hence her range of cannabis-infused menstrual discomfort remedies, which debuted last April. The humanitarian has also put her hard-earned dollars to work producing a reality series starring transgender models, which premiered in September. Her latest business venture is a little more back-to-basics: She likes quirky Christmas sweaters, so she’s making quirky Christmas sweaters.
Whoopi Goldberg’s All Together Now sweater; Image: Lord & Taylor
The Vetements fan will release a limited-edition collection of 11 “ugly” holiday sweaters in partnership with Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay. The knits will be available at 37 Lord & Taylor locations, 29 Hudson’s Bay stores and each retailer’s e-commerce site beginning November 1 — right in time for Ugly Sweater Party season. Coeds rejoice.
The unisex sweaters will range in size from small to extra large and will cost $139 apiece. While that may seem steep for a sweater that features gingerbread men eating each other, you can’t put a price on comfort: “The quality of the Christmas sweaters has gone down for me. They’re not as comfortable and they don’t feel as good,” Whoopi told WWD. “If we’re going to do it, we wanted to do them really well.” Hence, the novelty products are made from wool, cashmere and alpaca.
Each knit tells a different story. “I wanted to make something I would wear,” Goldberg — who will be modeling the collection all December long on The View — explained. “Sometimes they’re funny, sometimes they’re poignant and sometimes they’re silly as hell. I feel like it’s a no-brainer for you, and is just fun. People will be more inclined to wear them and put their politics aside.”
Whoopi essentially told the brands’ designers what to draw and said designers made it happen. Some of the knits light up, some feature bells. One shows an octopus posing as a menorah, another features interracial Santas kissing, because inclusivity. Each totes a label wherein WHOOPI is spelled out in a line drawing of the comedian’s face. Words don’t really do these creations justice, so we’ll just leave you with this:
Whoopi Goldberg’s “Santa Love” sweater; Image: Lord & Taylor
