Fashion PR 101

First things first, what is Fashion PR? Fashion PR helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its consumers in terms of fashion. Skills such as writing press releases, gathering research, and the ability to protect the interest of the company you work for are musts in fashion public relations. As a consultant in this realm you must focus on gaining exposure for the fashion line you work for, whether it is through communicating with editors and seeing what styles they need for upcoming shoots, talking to celebrity stylists and coordinating which looks would be great for their clients, or even setting up photo shoots and interviews.

The first step in “making it” in the business of fashion PR is to obtain a fashion-based internship. This can include working in a clothing store or working under a designer, the latter being more difficult to acquire. A great advantage you can have when entering the fashion PR industry is having attended a fashion school such as the Fashion Institute of Technology or the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, both centered in Manhattan, NY. Although attending a fashion institute can give you a leg up in the fashion world, any school you choose to enroll in will not be overlooked just because it is a "regular" school. Because it is such a competitive job market the more hands-on experience in the fashion world you have, the better chance you have at obtaining a job in fashion PR.

Many in the PR industry say that it doesn’t matter where you work on account of the varied roles PR practitioners fill. However, for such a specified area like fashion PR, it is to your best interest that you land a job in one of the five major fashion capitals of the world; New York, Milan, Paris, London, or Japan. By doing so, not only will you be introduced to different cultures but you will also be able to understand how fashion revolves in different parts of the world. A lot of fashion is about the glitz and the glam, but as a multi-billion dollar industry it is also about business. Most importantly, remember why you are working so hard to do what you are doing; it is because of your love for fashion and communicating with others that you have decided to enter such a competitive, commanding, and innovative job market.

Best of luck to all of you choosing to enter this amazing field of work!


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jummy Temidayo.