NEW YORK, July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Candie's, Inc., (Nasdaq: CAND) announced today that Kelly Clarkson will be its next spokesperson, and will appear in the company's new print advertising campaign. This is the first such endorsement for Kelly Clarkson, who was propelled into fame when she became America's first "Idol". Kelly is following in the footsteps of Destiny's Child, Ashanti, and Kelly Osbourne, who are past Candie's spokeswomen. Kelly's debut album, Thankful, the smash RCA/19 Entertainment release, has been certified platinum by the R.I.A.A., and entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart at No. 1.

The campaign was shot by famed photographer, Davis Factor, who is no stranger to Candie's. Factor shot the famous Jenny McCarthy on the toilet campaign in 1997. Celebrity stylist, Phillip Bloch, styled the shoot, and Jacob & Co. loaned Candie's over one million dollars worth of diamonds to be used as accessories.

"I'm really excited to be a Candie's girl," stated, Kelly Clarkson, "Candie's ads are totally different from everybody else's. They're so random; you never know what they are going to do next. They like to shake things up, and do things differently, that's what's so cool about it."

Neil Cole, CEO, Candie's, Inc., stated, "Kelly Clarkson exemplifies who the Candie's girl is, she is independent and strong minded. We find her success story to be extraordinary; she went from being the girl next store to a chart-topping pop star. She is a role model to teenage girls across America."

Commenting on Kelly Clarkson, Phillip Bloch, stated, "I think Kelly is definitely the epitome of the American girl, the American dream, she's talented, she's fun, and she has a great personality."

Commenting on the campaign, photographer, Davis Factor, said, "The idea of the Candie's creative was to show America a side of its idol that they've never seen, a kind of behind the scenes look at Kelly Clarkson. We had a lot of fun and the pictures look sexy and glamorous. Kelly was great to work with and had some great creative input."

The print ads will break this Fall in fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazines. The campaign was created by Candie's in-house advertising agency.

Candie's, Inc. is in the business of licensing the Candie's and Bongo name on a variety of young women's footwear, apparel and fashion products, and is a leading designer, distributor and marketer of jeans wear under the Bongo brand through its wholly owned subsidiary, Unzipped Apparel, LLC. Candie's also arranges for the manufacture of footwear products for mass market and discount retailers under the private label brand of the retailer. The Company operates 21 Candie's retail stores across the United States. For investor information please visit the corporate web site at http://www.candiesinc.com.

Behind the scene photos available at http://www.featurephoto.com .

SOURCE  Candie's, Inc.
    -0-                             07/23/2003
    /CONTACT:  Maria Dolgetta, Sr. Public Relations Manager of Candie's, Inc.,
+1-212-819.2084, mdolgetta@candiesinc.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.Candiesinc.com http://www.featurephoto.com /
    (CAND)

CO:  Candie's, Inc.
ST:  New York
IN:  FAS REA ADV
SU:  PDT WOM