Being aware of the latest trends or economic conditions can help the publicist come up with the ideas that will help the company sell their products. They can identify ways for the company to look more attractive to their customers. While older customers might prefer a slightly more elegant, classic setting and more conservative clothing, those who are younger are sure to enjoy the modern and hip look of a cutting-edge boutique. There will even be times when a PR fashion employee might have to figure the best way to combine these looks into one business.
Publicists who work within the fashion design industry seem to be doing more play than work and many individuals wonder how they can get this type of job. Fashion PR work includes finding out about the latest designs early in the game, going to the hippest parties, scouting out what everyone is wearing, and chatting with the elite players in the fashion world, including the leading designers, models, and magazine editors. They get to wear some great clothing and the paparazzi include them in some of the shots for papers and magazines.
Unlike many of the jobs in leading industries which require you to have the proper contacts and networks for success, this job can be yours if you are a creative and spirited free thinker with an eye for cutting-edge fashion with true style. You cannot just walk in and grab a job by telling someone your qualifications, but you can have opportunities that will let you pitch some of your original ideas about how to capture some positive media time.
The prime goal here is to keep the fashion company or designer in the public spotlight by coming up with interesting and innovative ways to do so. This is not paid coverage or exposure, and this is where a savvy PR worker begins to earn their pay. Great press releases and finely timed press conferences can be used as leverage to create a great deal of public interest and publicity. It is during these moments of high visibility that the fashion products and company lines can be showcased for all of the potential customers.
If you were to go to work as a public relations expert in the fashion industry, you would be expected to be able to contact different radio personalities, television shows, magazine editors, and newspaper reporters about arranging to get your client some featured coverage. There will also be fashion shows that have to be arranged in detail to make sure there is ample publicity to get the people to attend.
It would be your job to check VIP invitations and RSVPs. Arranging these types of events is time consuming and requires a lot of work because there will be catering, seating, and many other small details that must be attended to. Other events that you might be part of include trunk showings, Paris and London fashion shows, and New York Fashion Week.
While attending the wonderful, dazzling functions and parties does have a star-studded quality to it, there is also the need to make sure that promotions are handled correctly. With the debut of any new brand, there is a lot of work that must be done and the PR agent is the one who does most of it. It is their job to make sure that the samples of material are sent to different magazines and stores. These swatches can create a little buzz for your client by letting them get a peek at the look and feel of what this new brand of clothing is going to look like.
Timing of these types of activities is crucial because if you were to release the information too early in the game, you could lose some of the heightened interest by the time the actual brand release hit the market. There are even going to be times when something in the outside world is happening that creates such a stir you may have to convince your client to ditch an entire line or suffer from a backlash of negative publicity. One of these moments happened when PETA activists began to vocally and physically protest the use of real fur, and another of these step-back moments occurred when some clothing was advertised as being made from fabrics produced through child labor. A good publicist will save their client unwarranted embarrassment and public reprisals.
The economy may be slow this year but that has never been a big deterrent in the world of fashion. Even now, this industry is still expected to continue growing over the next decade. Publicists are very necessary to help the new fashion lines and new designers gain favor with the public. At the present time, almost 15 percent of the nation’s total employment is generated as a result of the fashion industry and you can find yourself a job in this fast-paced world. PR job openings will continue to grow at a relatively stable rate and the need is expected to increase by 1–2 percent each year for the next five years.
