By Ainger Alexander
In Jason Mraz’s famous song I’m Yours he said, “your name is your virtue.” This is quite the coincidence on my behalf because I am named after French fashion designer Etienne Aigner and ever since I was a little girl I have been crazy about fashion. I grew up on the ever-changing trends of the 2000’s and YouTube fashion vloggers trying to break into the industry. When I was a senior in high school and got my first laptop, I was introduced to fashion blogging and I knew that with my affinity for writing and my love for fashion, I would kill it in that capacity. I then matriculated to college and while fashion blogging became more of a hobby than a career, the concept of “branding” emerged and I was introduced to something better: Fashion PR.
Fashion PR is an innovative, fast-paced field where the hours are long, and the work is extensive, but those who have mastered the skills of promoting fashion brands to the style-conscious will prosper. To excel in Fashion PR, you must be able to do the following things: Created a strong brand for your client, build a network with fashion editors, publicist & buyers nationwide, understand media trends, be ready to handle crisis situations, be creative/innovative and lastly, prove the value of your work.
Since being an account associate in applied PR I have learned, and am still learning, a multitude of skills that I will apply to my career in fashion PR. I have familiarized myself with design software like InDesign/Publisher, which will allow me to creatively express information that is imperative to the brands that I will represent. I have learned the significance of various tactics and have created about 8 different ones including fact sheets, databases, brochures, postcards, and blogs. I have learned about the 3 different types of campaigns that a PR professional would create for a brand and in what ways they can be made even more successful after the initial concepts are presented. I have begun learning about trends in social media and building my network with colleagues and professionals alike. While the work that I have been doing with Top Dog is not fashion related, these basic skills are transferable across all areas of PR and will ensure success in whatever capacity you work as a PR professional.
In Jason Mraz’s famous song I’m Yours he said, “your name is your virtue.” This is quite the coincidence on my behalf because I am named after French fashion designer Etienne Aigner and ever since I was a little girl I have been crazy about fashion. I grew up on the ever-changing trends of the 2000’s and YouTube fashion vloggers trying to break into the industry. When I was a senior in high school and got my first laptop, I was introduced to fashion blogging and I knew that with my affinity for writing and my love for fashion, I would kill it in that capacity. I then matriculated to college and while fashion blogging became more of a hobby than a career, the concept of “branding” emerged and I was introduced to something better: Fashion PR.
Fashion PR is an innovative, fast-paced field where the hours are long, and the work is extensive, but those who have mastered the skills of promoting fashion brands to the style-conscious will prosper. To excel in Fashion PR, you must be able to do the following things: Created a strong brand for your client, build a network with fashion editors, publicist & buyers nationwide, understand media trends, be ready to handle crisis situations, be creative/innovative and lastly, prove the value of your work.
Since being an account associate in applied PR I have learned, and am still learning, a multitude of skills that I will apply to my career in fashion PR. I have familiarized myself with design software like InDesign/Publisher, which will allow me to creatively express information that is imperative to the brands that I will represent. I have learned the significance of various tactics and have created about 8 different ones including fact sheets, databases, brochures, postcards, and blogs. I have learned about the 3 different types of campaigns that a PR professional would create for a brand and in what ways they can be made even more successful after the initial concepts are presented. I have begun learning about trends in social media and building my network with colleagues and professionals alike. While the work that I have been doing with Top Dog is not fashion related, these basic skills are transferable across all areas of PR and will ensure success in whatever capacity you work as a PR professional.
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