Underlying [...] is the assumption that "Madonna's new look" can still generate the kind of heat [...] But some industry insiders would not bet on it. A few even question whether Madonna [...] still has the clout to [...] move the merch. For some the Gap ad is risky business. "It screams, I'm not old, I'm not old,"[...] "I don't think Madonna has the mass appeal she had when she was truly the age that she is trying to look, [...] Few believe that the style world's pet chameleon can spearhead a trend the way she did three years ago, [...] "I don't think that holds right now. The same audience of young people that didn't buy her record are not going to buy the clothes." For Kim France, the editor in chief of Lucky magazine, Madonna remains an influence, but only to a point. [...] believes that Madonna's vixenish posturing can still sell clothes, albeit indirectly. "[...] "But she still has the power to validate a trend." [...] "She's a cultural reference, like Andy Warhol," said [...] "People my age see her as successful, partly because she has been around so long," he said. [...]

NYT: Can Madonna Still Move the Merch?