Lead | PR Couture: Fashion PR, Marketing & Social Media

Fashion PR Podcast: Kristen Calavas, Cofounder of Online Fashion PR Directory, LookBook

November 25, 2008 5 Comments written by PR Couture

Fashion interns, database makers, fashion and celebrity PR pro’s rejoice! For our third installment of the Fashion PR Podcast, PR Couture spent some time with fashion PR entrepreneur Kristin Calavas, cofounder of the free online Fashion PR Directory, LookBook. A searchable database and directory that provides contact information for fashion brands, stylists and their celebrity client list, what was once a cumbersome task made worse by quick turnover, is now simplified.

Fashion PR pros and media can now find fashion brands and their PR representation, stylists’ celebrity client lists and agency contact information as well as information about celebrity contracts and endorsement deals, for free at LookBook.

Kristen Calavas most recently worked as a fashion public relations professional representing internationally renowned clients such as Alberta Ferretti, Rebecca Minkoff and Celine. Her partner, Rhonda Richford comes from InStyle magazine, where she served as Associate Editor for Entertainment in the Los Angeles bureau.

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While listening to the show, browse through the following interview Kristen recently did with PR Couture blog designer Rik Spencer Davies who blogs about digital fashion PR at Petite Bourgeoisie.

Today I was lucky enough to get an interview with Kristen Calavas, the co-founder of the new online resource, TheLookbook.com.

Check out a review of the website from PetiteBourgeoisie here…

Below is the full transcript, feel free to have a look, and don’t forget to check out the site.

Spence: What is your experience in fashion media?
Kristen: What other digital fashion projects have you worked on?
I have over seven years as a fashion publicist and my business partner is a fashion editor formerly of InStyle. We saw a great need for something like TheLookbook database and though we weren’t experts in the digital fashion world, we knew this resource had to be online to accommodate the ever-changing nature of fashion contacts.

S: Why did you start TheLookbook?
K: We started TheLookbook after one too many phone calls asking “Do you know who is styling so-and-so?” We realized that in every fashion office an intern or assistant was tasked with keeping this info updated, and we just thought it made sense to centralize the information and eliminate duplicituous work. Really we started TheLookbook to make our own jobs easier!

S: Where do you see TheLookbook in a year’s time?
K: In a year’s time we plan to have expanded TheLookbook to include Beauty Brands and their PR contacts as well as a listing of Beauty Professionals, their agency information, and their celebrity clients. We will also have a section listing editorial contacts for the major fashion and beauty publications. There are some additional possibilities in the works, too, that we can’t talk about yet.

S: Do you think there will be a change in the way fashion professionals interact and utilise the internet?
K: We feel that the fashion community as a whole is highly dependent on the internet and it has already added to the frenetic pace of the industry. Fashion professionals are heavily rely on the internet and this is only increasing with the new wave of interactive portals such as TheFashionlist.com and Stylecaster.com. Becausee of the internet, our industry expects accurate information at their fingertips in an instant which is why we wanted TheLookbook to be online, simple to use, and updated on a regular basis.

S: Do you blog? What do you think about the growth in online fashion blogs?
K: We don’t currently blog, though there is space on our site and plans to expand this section. Bloggers have become an unbelievably strong trendsetting force in the fashion world today and their power can’t be overlooked. On the flip side, though, we do feel that certain blog angles are over saturated and we will only delve into the blog genre if and when we feel confident TheLookbook.com will have a fresh angle.

S: Do you think we will get to the stage where online fashion media competes with traditional fashion media?
K: Yes. In today’s climate where so many of the publishing houses are struggling, it seems that the online media is gobbling up traditional media audiences left and right. It is dismaying, but we hope the tides will eventually turn. There is nothing like paging through a beautiful glossy and turning back to it for months.

S: What do you think about the current online strategies of fashion labels and PR companies?
K: In general, many of the online strategies for fashoin labels and PR Companies are outdated. They have embraced the need to pitch online media outlets but seem to be slower cultivating their own online presence.

S: What do you think the future of digital fashion media/pr is?
K: The future of digital fashion seems to be traveling towards interactive experiences so that the sense of community isn’t lost even when you are alone shopping from your computer. TheLookbook is missing the community experience, at least for now. Our site is focused solely on content.

(Image: 1,000 Wishes By Lyka Orhel)

Filed Under: Lead Tagged With: Fashion PR

PR Lessons Learned: Fashion Week San Diego

October 21, 2008 2 Comments written by PR Couture

[The following is a guest post by Maria Palma of Beauty is Within]

The very first Fashion Week in San Diego, touted as “The world’s only Bi-National Fashion Week” came and went like a blink of the eye. That’s because Fashion Week San Diego wasn’t actually a whole week! It turned into a four-day event – some might call it a nightmare while others might say it was OK for a first-time event. Whatever it was, there’s so much to learn from Fashion Week San Diego from a public relations standpoint.

Let me start off by saying that by no means am I a PR “expert”, but I’ve organized events before and know how to deal with the public. As an entrepreneur myself, I am my own PR person. I’ve also worked in customer service for many, many years which in essence, is public relations. That said, I’m going to share my perspective of everything that happened with Fashion Week San Diego from a “service” standpoint.

When I was writing up my blog post about Fashion Week over at Beauty Is Within, naturally I did an internet search to see what other bloggers/writers were saying about the experience. Some of it was not so good. For instance, there was a SignOnSanDiego.com article with the subtitle: “Style event gets an ugly start here with drama, tears” The writer dishes some of the behind-the-scenes drama (angry vendors, age limit, last-minute changes) that happened surrounding the event.

Granted, there is always going to be drama with any event like this, but what was interesting to me was that Allison Andrews, the head organizer of the show, declined to comment on any of it.

Lesson #1: If people are unhappy about something that was your fault – like failure to state at the time of ticket purchase that you had to be 21-years-old to attend the event – then take ownership of that mistake and make a statement to the press. A simple apology will suffice.

I’ve always believed that it’s important to know what people are saying about your business. It’s especially important when your customers have something negative to say. In this case, the customers were the sponsors, designers and event attendees of Fashion Week San Diego. As a business owner, it’s your job to make sure the people you are serving are happy and if they’re not, do something about it!

Lesson #2: Let people know that you’re doing something otherwise they’re going to think that you don’t care and are avoiding the issue. If you have a blog, communicate your intentions. If you have a PR person, have that person issue a statement.

In this day and age of the internet, one negative comment by a customer can spread like wildfire in a matter of seconds and there are people who will judge you based on that one negative article or comment. I personally was able to meet Allison Andrews and speak with her a couple times and to me she seems like a genuine person with good intentions. This was a first-time event with a few details that were overlooked, and I understand that people make mistakes. I certainly don’t expect this type of event to be flawless!

Overall, I feel that Fashin Week San Diego was a success, but if anything, the overall lesson to be learned here is that communication and honesty out of the gate is key.

Filed Under: Lead

Fashon PR Job: EMPR Seeks Account Excecutive

September 28, 2008 0 Comment written by PR Couture

Have you visited the PR Couture Fashion PR Job Board lately? It’s the place to go to post or seek out fashion PR related positions. Just $25 for 30 days to post and free to apply! Forget weeding through hundreds of Craigslist emails – with the fashion PR job board you reach a targeted, passionate group of potential applicants.

Feinstein/McGuiness PR is looking for a fashion/lifestyle account executive with 2 years agency experience.

FMPR is a Los Angeles based full service PR firm that specializes in publicity, product placement, event planning, branding, celebrity outreach, entertainment marketing, and red carpet production. In the public relations arena, FMPR handles retainer and project-based clients for Consumer, Lifestyle, Fashion, and Entertainment brands.

To learn more and to apply visit the PR Couture Job Board!

EMPR Account Executive

Also don’t miss CAPOBIANCO’s Internship Post (Los Angeles, California)