Fashion PR division of Pierce Mattie Public Relations, A Fashion Public Relations. Fashion publicity, promotion marketing firm

Before fashion blogging became a staple of the glamour industrial complex there was Look Online, the first and last word in professional independent fashion coverage. Published by Ernest Schmatolla with Editor in Chief Marilyn Kirschner penning fearless reviews and insights, Look Online is a rare beast in the typically tipped lipped fashion world where one wrong word can get you blacklisted for life.

Thus smart fashionistas quietly listen when Look Online speaks out. Recently Mr. Schmatolla asked a few difficult questions about fashion public relations at Fashion Week. He asked just who is filling up all of the seats at these shows that makes it so difficult to secure enough invitations for small publications and Internet publishers.

Our guess is many of them are brought in by the PR firm or publicist who is handling the front of house for each designer. Each publicist has his or her own group of people -- call them "fashion extras" who can be relied on to fill the house with friendly, attractive and eager faces.

Now this is quite a statement when you consider that public relations firms are paid to ensure that their clients receive as much exposure as possible. Surely having a full house is one way of getting the proper atmosphere for a given designer showing but with the explosion of new media the old ways of filling the house might very well be ineffectual at garnering press and attention for a client. Fashion extras are all well and good but publicists should be more concerned with getting "extra" attention and less concerned with getting their friends in the house. Fashion is an incestuous industry but has it gotten so bad that we would rather please our friends with invitations than look out for a client's needs? Ernest seems to think so and that is a damning statement for public relations in fashion.

Patty Huntington reports from Milan's fashion week: Gucci's 85th

Now don't get me wrong. It's not that the Gucci party wasn't nice. It was very nice. A series of elegant, ivy and bay leaf-lined black/transparent marquees had been erected on some vacant block or park in Milan's Via Melegari last Wednesday night to create a mini Gucci world. The R&B artist John Legend performed. The service was impeccable. People "got down" nicely – but not naughtily.

Backstage after Thursday's scintillating Dolce e Gabbana show. And I do mean scintillating, with a finale of one-armed, Lesage-sequinned catsuits and jumpsuits. I should note that the most amusing aspect of this finale was not the outfits themselves, which seemed more than a little Elvis-meets-Coogi but rather, the performances of the models who had all apparently been briefed to wave one arm up and down in a kind of interpretative dance movement - designed, presumably, to best highlight the unisleeves. Twyla Tharp, it wasn't.

The Leak: Can this be true? Glamour takes Crimes of Fashion and Don't Spotting from photos to video! Glamour magazine and Blip.tv have launched a Web site for readers to rat out their less-than-fashionable friends, or tip off America to the next big trend.
Don'tspotting accepts e-mail photos taken by users of the fashion highs and lows they come across on the street. Visitors can send in comments on the images, including rankings of approval and disapproval.

One of the major complaints lodged against the fashion glossy set is that their coverage is far from independent or unique. All the major books cover the subjects with the same perspective in a kind of tedious parade of advertiser backscratching and "it" designer fawning.

But not Fashion Wire Daily! The tiny wire service (in that occasional pieces are picked up by Yahoo and resyndicated) has had tough times in the past complete with disloyal editors and corporate restructuring yet it solders on under the competent hand of Managing Editor Renata Espinosa. With a tiny staff and a few dedicated freelancers Fashion Wire Daily manages to produce edgy, fresh, and yes, independent coverage of major Fashion Events the world over.

Recently the subscription only site became free, making all of its content open and available to anyone who wanders in. The site has experimented with blogs in the past and has plenty of blog style content available. Now is a great time to pop into the site as all of FWD's Fashion Week content is fresh and online as fast as their bigger brethren.

I fell in love with Mango as a teenager while on my first European trip. I remember the Spain based clothing retailer Mango as the one place where all of the clothes fit my hour glass shape perfectly and had a playful yet sophisticated look that often evaded American designers. While other European based clothing retailers, such as H & M and Zara, expanded to the US, Mango remained a European treasure.

Our nation's capital has never been home to the most forward thinking of fashionistas. Power suits remain "en vogue" and it isn't atypical to see shoulder pads on otherwise rational well educated women.

Thus Washington fashion is a scene dominated by the two Annes: Anne Klein and Ann Taylor. American sportswear is apparently an "Ann" thing.

Thus today when Anne Klein announced Isabel Toledo as the new Creative Director of the Anne Klein Designer Collection it seems that Washington fashion might get shook up after all these years.

You see Ms Toledo is a classic designer but with a twist drawing inspiration from her husband Ruben's sculpture work. According to a retrospective at Kent State Ms Toledo is rather far from Anne Klein territory.

Strong shapes are a Toledo trademark. Ruben sculpts bizarre anthropomorphic figures. Isabel uses cloth to emulate a fantastic variety of creatures. Their search for plasticity and volume ranges over the entire natural world.

One of Toledo's signature pieces is the cocoon jacket
which will surely be an interesting piece to see on Washington women.

Can anyone imagine Condi Rice wearing structural pieces with volume that both hide and highlight the body? I guess a new kind of fashion armour is coming to town. Bravo Anne Klein for being so daring. The beltway may never be the same.

American Idol host Randy Jackson is certainly a fan of luxury male accessory designer Aaron Barak. Randy was spotted recently purchasing the Aaron Barak Aviator bag at the hot Los Angeles boutique H. Lorenzo. Cash doesn’t seem to be an issue for Randy these days as the Classic Aviator bag retails for $1,075.

http://www.denimday.com/images/tt_hdrNav_masthead.gif

When I think of all the reasons why I love wearing jeans to the office, I can come up with many. They’re comfortable, they look great with a nice blazer, and the right fit can do wonders for the rear. Today though, there’s an extra special reason to pull out my favorite pair of jeans.

In honor of National Breast Cancer awareness month, Lee Jeans is encouraging offices everywhere to "slip into their favorite jeans and make a $5 donation to support the fight against breast cancer." Who knew casual Friday could make such a big difference? For more information on how you can still make donations, check out the PSA from NBC’s The Office (below), or visit www.denimday.com.

Kate Moss, one of the world's most successful model and style icon to so many has moved into fashion. British retail chain Topshop, which spearheaded the current fast-fashion craze, has signed Moss to create a clothing line that will debut in spring 2007.

Philip Green, the high profile owner of the Arcadia Group, which owns Topshop, announced the deal saying: "Kate has a unique position as a true fashion icon." He plans not only to carry the "Kate Moss for Topshop" label in his 308 stores, but to make it into a global brand. Green already has announced plans to open a flagship Topshop store in New York.

When I first saw these Ads I thought they were exploratory portfolio comps. Some of the most edgy stuff never makes it out into the public sector.

Hindu clothing chain High-Style The Fashion World creates relevant "shock-and-awe" advertising campaign that will definitely appeal to the younger audience. If you think about trends, this is nothing new, we've been incorporating more and more gore in our entertainment for years. Cobranding big name brands in goreiffic video games is old news. From my experience the more edgy and subtle the integration into the game the better it is received. Clients never like o hear this of course, they want blatant obvious placement which is not accepted as well as modest "easter-egg" style placement. Has anyone seen Michael C. Hall in Showtime’s new drama DEXTER? I'm not advocating that this is appropriate advertising for everyone. I do think you can take things too far, remember the Sandra Burnhard Mac cosmetics spot?

The gore is not from physical violence, just fashion descriptions supported by graphic images. It gets my attention, seems appropriate for the target market and the ads are "executed" well. Although I no longer fit the 18-34 demographic, I actually love first person shooters! I have several girlfriends who love them and UFC fights as well-go figure. Most of us worked in advertising or marketing which taints the demographics a little. So I understand that it takes "more" edge or shock-and-awe to reach an over stimulated generation of shoppers. Trends to keep in mind: Shock-&-Shop, Multicultural-Must-Haves and Gore-iffic.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BLOGGERS

Trendsetters around the globe are engaged in a fashion race, scouring boutiques and department stores in a desperate search to be the first to discover the new “It” denim line. Now, more than ever before, jeans are the staple item in stylish wardrobes. Jeans have also progressed in the fashion world. Designer denim has made its mark, appearing everywhere from the runways of New York to the office and bars during happy hour. Dressed up or dressed down, designer jeans are an essential item. Given the popularity of denim, the market is over saturated with new designer denim lines. Bread Denim is a unique brand in the overwhelming world of designer denim. Bread Denim’s fresh styles and flattering cuts have rendered them the next premium designer denim line.

New Un-retouched Photos Released: October 10, 2006

Photographer is Clarence K @ Frank Management
Models are Agatha @ Elite and William @ IMG
Photoshoot, October 10th.

Rather than following current trends, the creators of Bread Denim took a chance and ventured on their own. The young entrepreneurial team prides themselves in their “anything fly’s” mantra that is reflected in their unique designs. Bread Denim’s styles are as fresh as their namesake. The hot new line specializes in ultra sexy and stylish denim for men and women. Bread has quickly risen to the top of the competitive world of denim and established itself as the “Must Have” brand for 2007 and has already become a celebrity favorite.

The Predator Skinny Zip Jean is the company’s best selling style. A zipper extends from mid-thigh down, making The Predator an adjustable skinny-jean that is flattering on all body types. “It is minimalist, but super-sexy and sophisticated,” states Jason Ferro, the head designer of Bread. The line has three other styles for women and six styles for men. The designs come in a variety of six washes and three colors. The environmentally conscious line uses non toxic dyes at the wash house and the finest denim from Italy, Turkey, Japan, and U.S. Bread Denim has exclusivity on all their denim, which makes each piece unique and original.

Bread’s Holiday line and much anticipated spring line will debut at fashion havens such as Hollywood Trading Company, Fred Segal, Atrium, Selfridges, Isetan and Gallerie Lafayette. Get Bread while it’s hot.

From bathroom stalls to concert halls to the red carpet thralls, Bread Denim designers Sun, Jason, and Clark bring the outlandish and glamorous and grittiness of Los Angeles into their line. Visit www.breaddenim.com to learn more about Bread and get it while it’s hot.

Media Contact
Quinn Doan
Pierce Mattie PR
323.469.5500
quinn@piercemattie.com

In a recent interview with Cool & Dre, these famous hip-hop beat makers gushed about their love for sneakers. "I probably have more than 300 pairs," Dre stated. However, nothing compares to hip-hop sensation Fat Joe's collection who sports $10,000 crocodile AF1's.

The young, rich and trendy say that the right shoes are the first purchase you make on your way to the top. Before you can afford the Bentlys and Ferraries you need to get the right kicks. Plus, these influencers say that a girl appreciates when a man can pull together his outfit with a fly pair of shoes.

If you aren't spitting lyrics or following up with the latest rap trends, you can still pull together an outfit for a Don. Check out www.on-the-fly.com to learn about the essentials of the modern man...and yes shoes is one of them.

Guns and Roses is staging a comeback, and not just with their summer tour. Hollywood hipsters are respectfully paying homage it Axel Rose’s hard rocking 80’s rep by sporting his signature hair band. The trend isn’t limited to celebrities (who, for some reason, get away with off the wall fashion flops) From the frolicking on the beaches of Malibu to the shopping on the Sunset Strip, to partying on Hollywood Blvd, the entire town of Los Angele begun channeling the rock legend.

I’ve been saying for years that if I ever win the lottery, I’ll donate a large share of my money to Breast Cancer research. What’s the likelihood of that, though? I’ve also planned on participating in the numerous other fundraisers, but something always happens to prevent that, too. Now, however, I have no excuse because I can shop or bid on great merchandise for a cure. As a chronic shoemonger, I was delighted to see the special Stuart Wietzman selection of celebrity-designed pumps. There’s also the special promotions by companies like ShoeBuy.com that donate proceeds for every pink item purchased. So that means I get to shoe shop and donate at the same time- killing two birds with one stone! And believe me, I’ve got quite a grudge against the bird with the initials BC.