Does fashion need PR?

Friends, Thank you very much for taking out time from your very busy schedule to read my blog(s). Sharing PR knowledge with you with finesse has become my passion now and I really feel encouraged after reading your feedback in the comments column. Today I’m happy to present my 81st blog...Does fashion need PR?

Friends, Fashion is a popular style or practice especially in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup, body, or furniture. Fashion is a distinctive and often constant trend in the style in which a person dresses. It is the prevailing styles in behaviour and the newest creations of textile designers. Fashion is also defined as ‘the cultural construction of the embodied identity.’ As such, it encompasses all forms of self-fashioning, including street styles, as well as so-called high fashion created by designers and couturiers. Let us know what famous designers of the globe say about FASHION....

Don't be into trends. Don't make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live. - Gianni Versace

Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. - Bill Cunningham

Fashion is very important. It is life-enhancing and, like everything that gives pleasure, it is worth doing well. - Vivienne Westwood

What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language. - Miuccia Prada

I don't design clothes. I design dreams. - Ralph Lauren

You can never take too much care over the choice of your shoes. Too many women think that they are unimportant, but the real proof of an elegant woman is what is on her feet. - Christian Dior

In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. - Coco Chanel

Elegance is not standing out, but being remembered. - Giorgio Armani

Friends, I purposely placed the quote of Giorgio Armani at the end to share something with you. In November 2008, while roaming in the famous Rodeo Street of Los Angeles, US, I had purchased a Sunglass designed by Giorgio Armani because of its elegant design and very light weight which is one of my prized possessions even today. Fashion alludes to the way in which things are made; to fashion something is to make it in a particular form.

Most commonly, fashion is defined as the prevailing style of dress or behaviour at any given time, with the strong implication that fashion is characterized by change. Fashion is best defined simply as the style or styles of clothing and accessories worn at any given time by groups of people. Clothing has such an intimate relationship with the physical body and, by extension, the personal identity of the individual.

Fashion is most often thought of as a phenomenon of the Western world from the late middle ages onward; but fashion-oriented behaviour existed in at least some other societies and historical periods, such as Tang Dynasty China (618-907) and Heian Period Japan (795-1185). For example, at the eleventh-century Japanese court, it was a term of praise to describe something as imamekashi ("up-to-date" or "fashionable"). A regular pattern of stylistic change with respect to dress and interior decoration existed in Europe by the fourteenth century. The first fashion magazine is thought to have appeared in about 1586 in Frankfurt, Germany. By the seventeenth century, Paris was the capital of European fashion, and the source of most new styles in women's dress. By the eighteenth century, however, fashions in men's clothing tended to originate in London.

The fashion industry today is very cutthroat, with new designers popping up every year. Fashion labels, and particularly those in high fashion ones, are doing their best to make clothing that stands out from the rest. Every year the clothes that come down the runway are more innovative, more eccentric, and more magnificent. In most cases, this has resulted in some very unique designs. There are only so many styles that can be created before designers must really start thinking out of the box. This trend of ‘bigger and better’ grew from the amount of choices consumers have regarding where to shop. There are thousands of brands, ranging in prices and styles, and the sheer amount of them has made the fashion industry the highly competitive one. Fashion dictates many of the behaviours and attitudes of the public.

Friends, this is where Fashion PR comes in. For a fashion label, often times it can be the difference between success and failure. A brand must have a successful PR campaign to spread the word about its new clothing styles. PR may actually be one of the most essential elements in the fashion industry, because fashion is constantly changing. New styles are released several times a year, which requires editorial efforts to announce them. The amount of media and hype surrounding fashion never diminishes. Without effective PR tactics, labels would not have a competitive edge and would be swallowed by the thousands of other available choices.

PR, if it is done successfully, reminds the public about the brand and where they should be shopping. It is one of the most important elements in fashion and will remain a timeless key to success across all industries. Fashion PR is an exhilarating, fast-paced field where the hours are long, and the work is extensive. Those who have mastered the skills of promoting fashion to a clothes-conscious public will prosper. It is a hands-on job, working with either a single brand or many brands, small or major, that’s learned by doing.

The fashion industry is huge and highly competitive. Although it is an exciting area, it is also a stressful one, particularly during Fashion Week, a most important week for the fashion industry. In order to communicate effectively about issues in the fashion industry, one should know all the intricacies of fashion design, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing. This will help a PR professional to analyze, interpret, and forecast trends. They can learn how fashion buyers operate, the challenges of retail sales and management, and how to effectively market fashion to the public. With the proper understanding of fashion merchandising, planning of an effective PR campaign or activity for a fashion brand, or designer becomes easier.

The role of PR in the fashion world is critical and must understand the following before initiating any PR activity;

a.   How does PR as a fashion influencer not only get the word out about the client’s fashion line but also make a public faced with myriad choices interested in what the clients have to offer?

b.   How to make the brand grow?

Fashion PR is about managing reputation and increasing awareness of a brand by influencing opinions. PR uses all forms of media including print, electronics, online i.e. social media and fashion bloggers, special events such as fashion shows to launch a collection for a new season, store openings and product launches and many more to gain as much exposure as possible to establish and maintain goodwill amongst the fashion retailers’ and customers.

Fashion PR involves being in touch with a brand’s audience and creating strong relationships with them, reaching out to media and initiating messages that project positive images of the brand. Social media plays an important role in modern-day Fashion PR; enabling practitioners to reach a wide range of consumers through various platforms. Social media, such as blogs, micro blogs, podcasts, photo and video sharing sites have all become increasingly important to Fashion PR. The interactive nature of these platforms allows practitioners to engage and communicate with publics in real time, and tailor their clients’ brand or campaign messages to the target audience. With blogging and social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Wordpress, and other sharing sites, bloggers have emerged as expert fashion commentators, shaping brands and having a great impact on what is ‘on trend’.

Building brand awareness and credibility is a key implication of Fashion PR. In some cases, great hype is built about new designers' collections before they are released into the market, due to the immense exposure generated by PR. But how does a brand actually get started in Fashion PR and what should each Fashion PR professional know when dealing with influencers?

Key steps to execute a Fashion PR activity or campaign are;

·        Identifying Influencers in the Fashion Industry

Create a list of specific industry influencers to be targeted. Divide list into categories: fashion editors, fashion bloggers, celebrities, etc.

·        Know the industry Influencers

Develop a PR pitch that speaks directly to the influencer’s personality, sense of style, and even to their target audience.

·        Find a different angle to attract each influencer

The pitch should a different angle to attract each influencer based on his/her sense of style and taste.

·        Share a  engaging story

Create a story to tell. Share USP of your brand or design in a creative, innovative and engaging manner and relate the story to their tastes and sense of style.

·        Keep An Updated Pitch Report

Since you will be pitching the fashion brand to numerous industry influencers, it is essential that you keep an updated pitch report. Your pitch report should include: who you have pitched, what you pitched, when you sent your pitch, when you followed up, and all return communication. By analyzing your pitch report on a quarterly basis, you can determine what methods work best your PR efforts.

·        Think Outside Of The Box

When it comes to both your pitch and the items you send to your industry influencers, you must do something different to make yourself stand out from everyone else e.g. do not just send a dress in their size; send a dress in their favourite colour, or send a pair of jeans, along with a box of their favourite chocolates. In your pitch, show them you know who they are by commenting on one of their recent posts, pics, or accomplishments.

To sum up, Fashion PR helps in the coordination of the communication strategies and marketing approaches of the fashion brands, apparel companies as well as retail stores. Fashion PR also build, develop, and maintain a favourable public image of the fashion brand.  Being in the heart of glamour and glitter of fashion industry, Fashion PR also does a lot of interesting things such as: finding out the latest designs early in the game, going to the hippest parties, scouting out what everyone is wearing, chatting with the elite players in the fashion world including the leading designers and models, interacting with socialites including celebrities, page 3 personalities and setting up rapports with fashion correspondents and fashion editors.

Friends, Fashion PR help build and maintain relationships with the media, the public, consumers, investors, industry, the community, and employees. They do this by promoting the company or designer, putting out fires as needed, and keeping the public abreast of everything that happens with and within a company. To put simply,  Fashion PR is the voice of the fashion business.

Thank you for reading the blog.

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