Simon Fuller News

We told you Simon Fuller had plans above and beyond American Idol.

The British television and music producer is adding a new division to his entertainment company in roder to promote a struggling fashion designer, Roland Mouret (pictured, right).

Mouret, 45, was well-known for a thigh-binding collection of skirts and dresses in 2004 that made a noticeable impact on his standing within the fashion industry. He enjoyed international attention when Scarlett Johansson wore a dress from his collection at the Academy Awards.

But his fortunes reversed the next season when he resigned from his label over a compensation dispute with its backers.

Now, however, Fuller has come to the rescue.

The new partnership between will be called 19RM, operated as part of Fuller’s company, 19 Entertainment, which produces albums for alumni of American Idol and the British version, Pop Idol, with singers like Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks.

Fuller began the company in 1985, setting records for chart-topping hits and expanding its scope to representation for celebrities like David and Victoria Beckham. He sold 19 Entertainment last year to the American music industry baron Robert F. X. Sillerman, whose CKX company has also acquired most of the Elvis Presley estate.

In a statement, Mr. Fuller, who is president of 19 Entertainment, described his interest in a fashion business as a “final piece of my 19 jigsaw.”

“Fashion is the glamour that makes the soccer player an individual, the movie star a sex symbol and the musician a trendsetter and idol,” he said.

An American Idol, perhaps.

The mogul is scheming.

His groundbreaking project is the behemoth that has come to rule not only television, but also much of the entertainment landscape.

But if you thought Simon Fuller, the British creator of American Idol, would be sitting back by now celebrating his success, think again.

"I'm hungry," he tells the Los Angeles Times, and presumably he's talking about more than lunch.

Next item on Simon's agenda is taking the unscripted talent show to even greater heights, this time starting a songwriting competition that will be incorporated into the show and produce a song that will be sung by the next American Idol.

After that, he plans to revolutionize the entertainment arena further using his production company, 19 Entertainment, and other partnerships. He wants to start using unique strategies that, in his estimation, will change the way talent is developed and exposed.

Even by the lofty standards of the unassuming, soft-spoken Fuller, 46, who first came to prominence as the marketing and creative force behind the Spice Girls, it has been a crazy year for him and his production company.

Already a cultural phenomenon, American Idol is spawning a domino effect in which its alumni are now regularly appearing in theater, summer concerts and even making trips to the White House. The series finale scored 36.3 million viewers, and the show received eight Emmy nominations.

Former Idols like Kelly Clarkson (Season One) and Carrie Underwood (Season Four) have been transformed into bona-fide pop and country hit-makers. Lifetime will soon air a TV movie based on the life of Season Three American Idol winner, single mother and inspiring rags-to-riches story, Fantasia Barrino.

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