Bold and the Beautiful: Why Hope’s Line Failed, Who’s at Fault & Who Can Save It
You’re listening to Soap Dirt, the latest in television entertainment news. Hey Bold fans! So, Hope Logan’s fashion line is doing badly, and I want to talk about why it’s struggling, who’s really to blame, and the one person who could save it at this point. Spoiler: it’s not the COO. Please click subscribe if you’re not following, and let’s dive in.
The first thing I want to touch on is why Hope’s line is failing. Bottom line: the buyers don’t seem to want the designs. That’s what Steffy just confirmed to Ridge when one of their very loyal repeat buyers declined the upcoming new collection. So, is it a design fail? Is that Hope’s fault? Here’s a bit of history on the line.
Hope for the Future actually started from an ad campaign contest when Katie Logan was an inexperienced, likely ill-placed CEO of Forrester Creations. Hope came up with Hope for the Future, and Steffy had a different concept. Katie chose Hope’s option, mainly to tick off Steffy because of her issues with Bill. This concept for a whole line launched around 2010, though Hope had no design experience. The line was eventually canceled around late 2014, but when they recast with Annika Noelle, it was revived in 2018.
There was even a prank early on by Steffy and Pam that sabotaged Hope’s teleprompter at one of her first shows, making her speechless on stage. Steffy has been going after this line for 14 years! And though she has let Hope have her success when it was profitable, it’s important to know the history.
As for why the line is failing now—remember that video tribute Liam made for Hope, where he called her a visionary? Hope isn’t actually a designer. She’s the face and supposed inspiration behind the line. In the past, lead designers for HFTF included Thorne, Caroline Spencer, Thomas, Eric, and now Zende and RJ Forrester. Simply put, the designs aren’t appealing enough for buyers and retail stores.
The line’s struggles also tie back to Ridge firing Thomas after the CPS call drama. Without Thomas, they tried to replace him with Zende and Eric, but it didn’t work. Eventually, they rehired Thomas, but now, with him gone again, the line is struggling. If you ask why, it’s because Thomas isn’t there.
Hope also played a part—she seemed to toy with Thomas’s feelings, letting him think she might accept his proposal. When she said no, Steffy pushed Thomas to take Douglas and get a fresh start in Paris, leading to his departure. Hope’s been angry ever since.
Losing Thomas—a brilliant designer—has really hurt HFTF, and he’s likely the only one who could revive it. Unless B&B brings in someone like Sally Spectra from Y&R, Thomas seems to be the answer. However, there are rumors that actor Matthew Atkinson may have been let go, though he might just be on parental leave.
In the end, Carter’s push to invest more money into Hope’s line doesn’t make sense. The line isn’t failing due to finances—it’s failing due to designs that don’t appeal to buyers. Hope for the Future seems dead in the water unless they bring Thomas back or find a talented outside designer.
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