2011 August | PR Couture: Fashion PR, Marketing & Social Media

Getting IN: Journalism & PR Grad Lands Internship with Planete Chic NY Fashion Week

August 31, 2011 0 Comment written by Lauren

“Everything about this job has been a surprise to me. I never thought I would land an internship like this. It was such a rare and interesting opportunity; there was no way I could turn it down [and] once I get to New York during Fashion Week, the real work will begin.” – Jorie Westley

Meet Jorie Westley, a journalism/PR grad currently balancing a full-time fashion career on the west coast with a fast-paced, all-hours fashion show production internship on the east coast. Here’s how she does it:

What is your background?

I was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California; a hippie, sometimes sleepy beach town on the central coast north of San Francisco. Since I was a child I have had a passion for writing. However it wasn’t until high school that I realized I could make a career out of it. My high school English teacher saw my passion and talent for writing and suggested I study journalism in college. I never gave it a second thought; I was a declared journalism major before my first day of school. I went to college at Chico State and was drawn to the school after I heard about their exceptional journalism department. I chose to option in PR my freshman year before I really understood what it was; I just knew that news ed wasn’t for me.

My first internship while I was in college was at Restored Clothing Co. Restored, which was in business from 2007-2010. It was a local Chico business that provided its customers with quality clothing that had a message of restoration behind its designs. For each purchase made, Restored would donate 10% of the sale to the charitable organizations it supported. I worked as the public relations and marketing intern for this clothing company for a little over a year. I wrote and developed Restored’s media kit, built strong media relations, planned events, produced fashion shows, planned and implemented campaigns, and assisted in the styling and production of photo shoots and fashion shows.

Also while in college I worked part-time as a sales associate at Gap Inc. While at Gap, I worked on the visual merchandising team, and discovered an interest in styling, window display settings, and executing the overall visual appeal and flow of the store.

I graduated from Chico State last December and have been working full-time for LuLus.com, an online clothing company based in Chico. I am currently searching for a PR job where I can combine my college degree and my love for fashion.

Why Fashion PR?

I fell in love with fashion PR during my internship at Restored Clothing Co. It wasn’t until I interned there that I realized I could combine my love for fashion (which developed while working at Gap Inc) and my studies in public relations. The fast pace, the fashion shows, visual merchandising, media relations and photo shoots; I loved every minute of it. All of my past jobs and internships helped pave the way to my current internship which includes helping to execute Planete Chic Fashion NY Week on September 15.

How did you land your position?

While studying public relations at Chico State, I recall one of my professors saying “it’s not always what you know, but who you know”. I actually landed my internship at Planete Chic through my best friend and college roommate. My roommate, Amanda, moved to New York after college to pursue a career in event panning. Last year, she volunteered at New York Fashion Week. After she worked the show, the owner of Planete Chic, Herve Racaud, came up to her and complemented her on her hard work during the show. He asked her to come back as the event coordinator intern this season. Racaud mentioned to her that he was looking for someone to do PR, meanwhile Amanda mentioned me and my experience. After sending my resume and working out the details with working from California for a NY company, I was hired; all thanks to my best friend.

What is an example of a typical day in the office?

My typical day at the office is coming home from my regular 9 to 5 job and then working for Planete Chic. It has been hard at times working from California, when I wish I could be in New York and on the same page as my team. Unfortunately at times, my internship at Planete Chic isn’t my only priority. I work full-time in California and I spend the rest of my time “in New York” at Planete Chic. I usually start getting texts and emails from Herve in the morning, and we plan our tasks for the day and night. I usually work on Planete Chic projects from the time I get off work at 5 p.m. until about 11 o’clock at night. Once I’m ready to call it a night, I realize that it’s 2 a.m. in New York, and Herve is still sending me emails! He works so hard; I swear the man must never sleep. It will be nice once I’m actually in New York in September, and we can break from being a bi-coastal team.

What are your responsibilities?

My main tasks have been writing press releases, working on fact sheets about the designers we are working with, social media updates and building up Planete Chic’s media kit. In addition to standard PR writing, I have been researching for press, buyers, bloggers and media we want to invite. Once I get to New York during Fashion Week, the real work will begin. I am so excited to actually work with Herve in person, prep for the show, see New York and my best friend!

What is a recent success story that you have been a part of?

My main successes so far have been establishing media contacts and building our invite list. This has been my main project as of now. Research seems like it can go on forever, but have been really enjoying discovering new boutiques, finding buyers, press and bloggers who love fashion as much as I do. The true success story will hopeful come after our fashion show.

What challenges are attached to your job?

The main challenges I have faced so far is doing this internship from California. It can be very frustrating when I need to ask Herve a quick question or want to know Amanda’s opinion on something, and I can’t just say it out loud from my desk. Communication has been key for us; however, a lot can get lost in translation through emails and text messages.

What aspects of the job requirements were a surprise to you?

Everything about this job has been a surprise to me. I never thought I would land an internship like this. It was such a rare and interesting opportunity; there was no way I could turn it down. I knew it would be difficult working for someone who is so far away from me, but so far it has been well worth it. I can only imagine how many more things will surprise me once I get to New York. I am going to be able to work on what is going to be a truly fabulous fashion show, meet so many people, and see some great fashion.

Filed Under: Interviews, Jobs & Internships, PR Couture Tagged With: Fashion Events, Jobs & Internships, New York Fashion PR

2011 Jeffrey Fashion Cares Brings Jason Wu to Hautelanta

August 31, 2011 4 Comments written by Crosby

Written by Shanna Schwarze

The countdown is underway for New York Fashion Week – but new collections, party plans and guests lists were put on hold for Jason Wu – at least temporarily. The celebrated designer, and First Lady favorite, was honored for the second time as the featured designer at the 2011 Jeffrey Fashion Cares event.

For the uninitiated, Jeffrey is actually Jeffrey Kalinsky, of the Jeffrey designer boutiques. How did Kalinsky manage to woo Wu right at the busiest moment of his business? Simple, Jeffrey’s support for bourgeoning designers is legendary, and many jump at the chance to take part.

Held 32 stories high above the Atlanta skyline, in an empty loft, the event was kicked off by a cocktail lounge hour; featuring libations galore, local celebrity sightings {NeNe from Real Housewives of Atlanta, y’all} and a silent auction. Once the bottles ran dry, it was time for the live auction with featured items like Todd Shelby’s photograph of the gravity defying Christian Louboutin high heeled ballerina shoe, “ultimate” luxury getaways and a Nordstrom tea party.

The money raised goes to Atlanta AIDS Fund and Susan G. Komen for the Cure – with last year’s total coming in at %650,000. {Breaks down to 93 cents of every dollar to the actual charity}

Jeffrey Fashion Cares | Image: Ben Rose

Oh yes, and then it was time for the fashion, and after the long wait, the crowd was not disappointed. Jason Wu’s Fall/Winter collections were shown – so no surprises here – but still breathtaking to see in that capacity. Thanks to jewel toned fabrics, 60′s housewife throwback dresses and evening wear with slits up to here – spontaneous applause broke out on several occasions.

Then it was done and on to the luau-themed after party. B-52s front man Fred Schneider stepped in for guest DJ duties, fire breathing acts, and Atlanta’s star drag queens all stopped by. A little tropical getaway following a great fundraiser.

About Shanna

Shanna Schwarze, a late bloomer to the world of fashion – Anything I know at all, I’ve learned from my much cooler, hipper little sis Kelly. When she’s not schooling me, I like to cover smutty pop culture stories, pimp out my favorite musicians to my friends, and contemplate what sort of shenanigans my pug Luda is secretly planning. Follow Shanna @ShannaNews

Images courtesy of Ben Rose

Filed Under: News & Events Tagged With: Fashion Events, Fashion Media

5 Ways to Get the Most from your PR Agency

August 30, 2011 0 Comment written by PR Couture

Written by Liz Anthony, President, Mariposa Communications

When your business operations and PR strategy are running in lock-step, sales and growth will follow. Ensure a productive, successful experience working with a PR agency by following these five guiding principles.

Research agencies and ask questions

When choosing an agency, keep several factors in mind: Is your brand well-established? Do you have an e-commerce website? Do you release new designs on a regular basis? These factors (among others) make it difficult for an agency to predict the volume and quality of press hits you will get. However, the agency should have enough experience to look at your brand and set realistic expectations. Don’t accept excuses. Also, remember not all agencies are created equal, so beyond asking for their opinion, you should also ask for samples of their work. Use the agency’s previous results as an indicator of what to expect. Set these expectations up front, and on a periodic basis, revisit them and hold the agency accountable to their predictions. After all, you should get what you are paying for.

Set the groundwork for successful PR

While press credits tend to increase sales, you still need the right tools in place to capitalize on the growing buzz and increased brand recognition. The goal is to make interested parties turn into real, long-term customers. First, make sure that you have a quality e-commerce website that makes it easy for potential customers to navigate and purchase your products. If they have a certain feeling of what your brand offers before getting to your website, you don’t want to detract from that opinion – if anything you want to build on it! Next, make sure that your sales function is aligned with your PR initiatives, and that you are adequately prepared to capitalize on positive press. Your sales personnel should pitch to potential buyers utilizing press credits to demonstrate your brand’s credibility. This is one of the reasons that it is vitally important to align sales with PR.

Allow your representative to be the sole PR contact

When you hire a PR agency, let those professionals be the single point of contact for all things media related – try not to interfere. If you attempt to conduct your own PR while you have representation, you may inadvertently get fewer results due to media confusion (they won’t know who to reach out to – you or the agency). To make sure the process is clear, create a media inquiries contact on your website that refers people to your PR agency, and if anyone does reach out to you, forward the request on rather than try to fill it. This is not to say that you should ignore what your PR agency is doing – quite the contrary. Spend your time ensuring that business operations and PR initiatives are consistently aligned.

Seek out editor feedback

If you have hired a highly regarded agency, your PR representative will have many deeply rooted relationships with media contacts and editors. As a result, the agency can obtain uninhibited feedback regarding your product and designs. Although at times it will be harsh, this feedback is invaluable since it comes directly from the people who shape the trends and decide what consumers are going to buy. You should seek out this information by requesting that your representative conduct desk-side appointments and host periodic press events. Gifting editors is always helpful because they will keep the products in mind for future shoots.

Ask your agency to explain analytics and progress

On a monthly basis, your PR representative should send reports detailing the brand’s placement in publications. Ask your agency to explain the information and to evaluate the success of various products and designs, as reflected in their placement in publications. Also, you should discuss any upcoming collections, important dates, or new sources of press. Always be thinking of new approaches for gaining publicity.

About Liz Anthony

A native of Canada, Liz moved to New York City to pursue a career in fashion public relations. She got her start in the corporate public relations department of a major American fashion brand, where she oversaw regional press and events. In time, Liz segued into the agency world, moving to a boutique firm and specializing in luxury accessories. In 2009, Liz founded Mariposa Communications to provide unparalleled PR services to a range of clients and designers, whether established or on the rise. Follow Mariposa Communications on Twitter & Facebook.