Scarlett Johansson to design clothes for Reebok

Johansson, the star of Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation and Woody Allen's latest muse, currently commands the lowest per-movie fee of any of the actresses on the Forbes Celebrity 100. However, the 21-year-old has other irons in the fire. She became the "spokesmodel" for the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton in early 2005 and inked a lucrative two-year endorsement deal with French cosmetics giant L'Oreal earlier this year.

Johansson, who also made hearts tick faster when she appeared nude on the cover of February's Vanity Fair with former designer Tom Ford and Pirates of the Caribbean actress Keira Knightley, has now signed a multimillion dollar deal to design and model her own range of Reebok shoes and clothing that will hit high-end department stores and boutiques next spring.

Has Hollywood's favorite clotheshorse really spent hours with spool and thimble in the atelier? Amy Schaeffer, Reebok's vice president of lifestyle design, claimed the starlet had taken a very active role in creating the "Scarlett 'Hearts' Rbk" line from the initial concept. Johansson has apparently sat through several product and design meetings with Reebok, including a three-hour session Monday prior to her visit yesterday to its headquarters.

"We've shown her sketches throughout the design process," said Schaeffer. "She has a very strong opinion and vision," she added.

The collection of athletic-inspired pieces will apparently draw on influences from the '70s and '80s. Analysts consider the multiyear deal an attempt to rekindle department store interest in the Reebok brand and reconnect with female customers who built the company into a top athletic footwear empire during the aerobics-nutty 1980s.

"I like the idea of exercise and aerobics being glamorous: Olivia Newton-John and women exercising in false eyelashes," Gothamite Johannson was quoted as saying in a media report. "I am basically designing clothing for my friends, and a lot of my friends are also regular girls with lovely curves and feminine figures," she added.