Sunday, November 2, 2008

Fashion PR: Worth it, or not?

Watching the new Bravo TV reality show, The Rachel Zoe Project made me begin thinking about what fashion PR really entails. It has been glamorized as being an awesome career filled with perks and celebrity encounters, but I wonder if it is as fulfilling as it seems to rise to the top in fashion PR. Obviously not all PR jobs will have a huge humanitarian impact, but I just don’t know if all of the stress and non-stop work is worth it in the end. As a future PR practitioner I look forward to making at least a small difference in people’s lives, for the better, by working for a non-profit one day or taking on a pro-bono client that really needs the help of a publicist.

On the episode of The Rachel Zoe Project that made me question this popular and desirable facet of PR, Zoe, a Hollywood fashion stylist, had to go through the PR personnel of such designers as Oscar de la Renta and Zac Posen to get the exact dresses she wanted for her clients. Being in the industry, I realized just how many different avenues one can take in public relations. The PR person for Oscar de la Renta probably has a million different jobs, from planning glitzy events to helping with every last detail of a fashion show. The fashion and celebrity world is such a well oiled machine of fake perfection that is made possible by brilliant and creative publicists who are so completely behind the scenes that many people don’t even know what public relations actually means.

It’s really great that PR people have so many options in employment. Fashion may be a perfect field for some who really feel fulfilled to help an aspiring actor become a celebrity, while others thrive in the corporate environment helping a company develop a good rapport with the public. The opportunities seem endless!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations firm staff member, Brianna Fisher.

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