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Camila Alves Talks Muxo Handbag Line and Blending Fashion Public Relations with Affordability

Allison Kugel — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:19:07 +0000

: Fashion and Accessories Public Relations

Last week I interviewed model turned handbag designer, Camila Alves, about her Muxo couture handmade bag line as well as her Muxo by Camila Alves line for QVC. Throughout our conversation I picked up quite a bit of cues regarding how Alves prefers to handle the public relations and marketing of Muxo handbags. When I asked Alves which celebrities were fans of Muxo handmade leather bag (knowing full well she has many celeb fans), Alves expressed to me that she does not like celebrities to be the cornerstone of her public relations tactics in promoting her handbags.

Camila Alves told me during her PR.com interview, “You know, that is always a touchy question for me because I don’t advertise who wears our bags. A lot of the people who have our bags, some of them purchase, some of them the stylist got it, some of them got it out of the trunk of my car because a lot of them are friends. I would never come out and say who has the bag and who does not have the bag.”

Alves does not want to position her bags to the public by influencing the cosumers’ choices to be in line with any one celebrity; this is a riskier move than aligning her bags with various big name stars, but Alves feels confident in her public relations approach. Though she does admit that when it comes to publicizing fashion and accessories, many buyers and consumers are eager for famous names. “Unfortunately, that’s what people look at these days. That’s what people want to know, and that’s how the business works. Eventually it gets out of my control because this or that person is wearing the bags out and the paparazzi takes a photo, and then it’s in a magazine. We have no control over that. But I would never put on our website, pictures of so and so wearing the bags.”

Camila countered that her handbags are not trendy or part of a particular celebrity fad, but rather, they are timeless pieces of wearable art that women can wear and then pass down to their daughters years from now.

Although the go-to formula these days for fashion pr is to align a brand with a celebrity or multiple celebrities for that matter, marketing a brand to women’s individuality is also a viable public relations tactic when it comes to fashion and accessories.

This story was brought to you by Allison Dawn PR

Fashion Public Relations – Linking Women’s Media with Celebrity Media

Allison Kugel — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:00:59 +0000

Juicy Couture, My Favorite!

Fashion public relations is a lot of fun for us publicists! Seriously, what woman wouldn’t want to work with gorgeous fashion apparel, picking out the stars of that season’s line and pitching them to the media? Everything from designing the press kit to writing the promotional copy and seeing the results of your fashion pr efforts in magazines, it makes me feel like a kid in a candy store.

Fashion public relations is visual and fantasy-based. It’s all about presenting a certain image. When I work with a fashion client I usually break the brand down to its foundation and re-make it from the ground up. Does that sound weird? Here’s what I mean, and these are just a few fashion public relations tips that anyone can use to achieve media coverage and consumer buzz for apparel and accessories.

In all of my career I have never seen an industry quite as saturated as the fashion industry. High end couture and celebrity-driven lines seem to reign supreme in fashion pr and everyone else is forced to fight for the remaining showroom and retail floor space. But here are some fashion public relations strategies that can still stack the public relations and marketing deck in your favor.

How are you presenting your fashion line? Every fashion designer needs a website, that is an obvious point, and assuming you have a professional looking website, how is your line being displayed? I will never forget one particular client who I worked with a few years ago. When we first began working together she was displaying her clothing on headless mannequins and photographing her clothing that way. I didn’t understand how a fashion designer could allow her creations to hang pitifully on headless mannequins. Where is the fantasy and intrigue? Clothes are meant to be worn by people, beautiful people who carry themselves with flare and have a sparkle in their eye = confidence. Display your apparel properly… on human beings. Look at your entire line for the upcoming season and pick the stand-out pieces. Find a model or models who wear your designs well and project the fantasy you want to convey. My public relations firm, Allison Dawn PR, puts together photo shoots for fashion clients, but anyone can do this on a relatively small budget. There are many photographers, makeup artists and models vying for a chance to build up their portfolios. You can create images that will capture the attention of media, consumers, buyers and the entertainment community if you adhere to your vision. I have created lookbooks, start to finish, for $2000.00.

Be strategic with your samples. Don’t give out samples to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Samples are valuable and should only be given out with imminent purpose. Distribute samples with care to the following sources: wardrobe stylists, editors and celebrity publicists. BUT, this should be a relatively short list. Sit down and make three lists:

Which celebrities fit the body type, lifestyle and image that reflects the image of your fashion line

Which magazines and blogs write about fashion and accessories that seem to fit the same demographic as your own line. Remember this includes the look of the apparel and accessories but also the retail price point. If there is a particular magazine or page in a magazine where the editors seem to consistently include pieces that look similar to your but the average price point of what they cover is $50.00 to $250.00 and your pieces average from $500 – $1000 then that is not the right venue for your line.

Research talent agencies that represent wardrobe stylists (yes, they have agents) and invest in a Hollywood Creative Directory to contact TV and film products directly to inquire about presenting your link to their costume designers.

Know how to use your bragging rights appropriately. When it comes to Fashion PR, it’s all about “who is wearing your line?” Retail buyers and sales reps for that matter are shaky at best about trying out new lines. However, they love to see glossy pictures of celebrities out and about wearing your line in the celebrity weeklies, or in fashion magazines. They also love to see your pieces on the red carpet, or to hear how much so and so actress just loves that sweater or scarf from your latest collection. Don’t be shy about announcing these exciting developments in press releases and in email pitches to editors and fashion reporters.

Stay tuned for more on fashion public relations in upcoming blogs.

Fashion Public Relations – Is US Weekly The New Vogue?

Allison Kugel — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:00:01 +0000

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.