Fashion Public Relations – Is US Weekly The New Vogue?

When it comes to fashion public relations tactics, achieving product placement or editorial mention in publications like Vogue or Elle used to be the gold standard, and in many ways that stiil holds true. But here is the wrinkle in that theory – nowadays pop culture celebrities seem to have more of a direct influence on fashion trends then models or even fashion moguls. And the first questions out of the lips of most retail buyers, sales reps, showrooms, “Who is wearing your line?” The next thing to drop from their lips, “Go get a publicist and get some celebrities wearing your line so we can sell it to buyers.”

I know what you’re thinking… whatever happened to the days when fashion forward deisgn and good creftsmanship was enough? I often ask myself the very same thing, but for my clients’ sake I very often have no choice but the go with the flow, and that is to get merchandise into the hands of the famous and onto the pages of US Weekly, Life & Style, Star, you get it.

A picture of Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian or a “Girl Next Door” wearing your client’s wares in a tabloid can up their sales ten fold or more. And these girls recognize their value as walking, breathing billboards that help designers with their public relations tactics and in courting buyers. And so they should. Their images help people make money and more power to them for reaping the rewards that come their way in return. Tabloids fly off of supermarket racks at breakneck speed, doing teh kind of sales volume that high fashion magazines can only dream of right now and with women now more concerned with “who is wearing this or that” as opposed to what the so-called fashion experts are deeming fashion forward the public relations tactics of most fashion and accessory lines has changed somewhat making magazines like US Weekly the new “Vogue.” it sounds silly, and I am sure quite irritating to fashion’s inner circle, but the theory has merit.