Simpson Shawl Aids Argentina Fashion Boom

Simpson Shawl Aids Argentina Fashion Boom
When pop star Jessica Simpson snapped up a striking hand-knit shawl while shopping in Manhattan, she didn't realize she was playing a bit part in Argentina's fashion boom.
Draped over the shoulders of Simpson who stars with her husband, Nick Lachey, on the MTV reality show "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica" the rainbow-colored shawl has become a fashion statement good news for the unemployment-stric ken Argentine economy and the 28 knitters at a factory outside Buenos Aires.

"I never would have thought that my love for shopping could have such a meaningful impact on someone's life," the 24-year-old singer said in a statement e-mailed by her publicist.

The shawl with its unique spider-weblike design is the brainchild of Argentine model-turned-desig ner Cecilia de Bucourt, just one idea of many in a fashion revolution as Argentina struggles out of economic meltdown.

"Since Jessica started wearing my shawls I got more and more demands from her fans who love her style and what she wears," de Bucourt said. "I'd say it tripled my production in just four months."

Joblessness remains in double digits but lower labor costs are boosting the fashion industry and its ambitious designers.

Whether at weekend street fairs in Buenos Aires' swanky Palermo district or in boutiques on New York's Upper East Side where Simpson picked up her