What Fashion PR & Communications Professionals Need to Know Today

Discover the most relevant industry news and insights for fashion PR & communications professionals, updated each month to enable you to excel in job interviews, promotion conversations or perform better in the workplace by increasing your market awareness and emulating market leaders.

BoF Careers distils business intelligence from across the breadth of our content — editorial briefings, newsletters, case studies, podcasts and events — to deliver key takeaways and learnings tailored to your job function, listed alongside a selection of the most exciting live jobs advertised by BoF Careers partners.

Key articles and need-to-know insights for PR & communications professionals today:

1. The Year Ahead: The Alluring New Face of Influencer Marketing

Influencers continue to be a powerful channel for brands to break through the noise and connect with consumers, with the influencer-marketing industry forecast to reach $21.1 billion in 2023, up from $16.4 billion in 2022. However, the influencer landscape has been evolving in the past few years as consumers increasingly demand authenticity, entertainment and relatable personalities, with this trend likely to gather momentum in the year ahead.

A 2023 survey found that, although beautiful and aspirational content was effective, social media users were more likely to follow influencers whom they deem authentic and fun. While traditional influencers who convey an aspirational lifestyle and command large audiences are likely to remain important for fashion marketing, other influencers who come across as less scripted or polished are already gaining audiences. Quirkiness, humour and vulnerability are helping this cohort stand out.

Related Jobs:

Social Media Coordinator & Content Producer, The Bicester Collection — Barcelona, Spain

Publicist, KCD — New York, United States

Brand & Content Producer, Zimmermann — Sydney, Australia

2. How TikTok Is Reigniting the Sample Sale Craze

As sample sales’ profile rises online, so does their power as a marketing tool for brands. Sample sales’ growing popularity has raised expectations and can lead to backlash if a “sample sale” doesn’t have the merchandise — and more importantly, discounts — to back up the name. A Mackage sale in December 2023 was met with some disappointment online with some prices just 40 percent off retail.

On TikTok, “gatekeeping” — or keeping information under wraps — is out of style, and followers are heavily invested in what they can learn from influencers’ sample sale shopping experiences: What sort of items are included, if certain pieces are savvy investments based on material and construction and what range of sizes is available. “People want to know why you bought something, the story behind it. They want to know the entire process, from standing in line to what it’s like inside,” said New York-based influencer Lilly Sisto.

Related Jobs:

Corporate Communications Coordinator, Bestseller — Vienna, Austria

Director of Social Media, Gap — San Francisco, United States

Visual Communications Assistant Manager, Chico’s — Fort Myers, United States

3. Why Banal Is Big in Fashion’s Latest Campaigns

For its Pre-Spring 2024 campaign, Bottega Veneta embraced the everyday. Called “Readymade” and unveiled Dec. 5, the campaign catalogues mundane, even boring moments in the lives of the very famous A$AP Rocky and Kendall Jenner, who carry groceries, pump gas, drink lattes and jog in head-to-toe Bottega Veneta. The images look more like the work of a paparazzi than a fashion photographer — because they are.

While surrealist marketing stunts like Jacquemus’ life-size CGI floating handbags and Tod’s’ driver shoe-shaped car dominated the first half of the year, lately, brands have been embracing more subtle campaigns, featuring casual images in somewhat generic settings. […] It’s a shift that reflects what’s happening in the luxury sector at large, where, after a boom period in the wake of the pandemic, demand is softening as economic uncertainty, high interest rates and inflation persist.

Related Jobs:

Communication Associate, Ralph Lauren — Milan, Italy

VIP Account Manager, RK Communications — New York, United States

Communications Intern, Tapestry — New York, United States

4. Gstaad Guy: Inside the Niche Social Media World of the 1%

Gstaad Guy […] began making a name for himself only a few years ago in niche social media circles by parodying the lives and tastes of the ultra-rich through sharp, satirical social commentary delivered through fictional personas. […] Equally, luxury fashion brands also get where Gstaad Guy is coming from — to the extent that several have entered into partnerships with the social media star. Loro Piana launched 600 limited editions of its Open Knitted Walk shoes exclusively for Gstaad Guy followers; the collaboration sold out within hours and became the fastest-selling product the brand had ever made, according to Forbes.

“I am in a very unique position, where I have, through fiction, created very authentic characters. People have a deep connection with the characters, likely because of how authentic to their values they are […]” He told BoF. “And because of the rather niche jokes I’m making. I have the highest concentration today of high-net-worth people of any social media page globally, who are being communicated things that are delivered lightly through tongue-in-cheek storytelling that’s very digestible.”

Related Jobs:

PR Manager, Tiffany & Co. — Paris, France

Director, Global Influencer and Creator Marketing, Coach — New York, United States

Digital Marketing Manager, Calvin Klein — Chiyoda-ku, Japan

5. KCD Names Rachna Shah New Chief, Opens Next Chapter

The powerhouse fashion public relations firm, which works with a who’s who of major fashion brands, from sector giant Louis Vuitton to white-hot Miu Miu, has promoted KCD veteran Rachna Shah to global chief executive, as Julie Mannion, who has led the agency since 1994, relinquishes her current role to become chairman of the board.

She’s taking on the top job amid a fashion PR landscape being reshaped as boutique upstarts trade on a more social media-savvy approach and bigger players such as Karla Otto owner The Independents and The Lede Company bulk up their offerings through acquisitions, putting pressure on those caught in the middle. M&A isn’t a top priority at KCD, though Shah said “never say never.” The focus at present is KCD itself — “we’re investing in us,” she continued.

Related Jobs:

Social Engagement Coordinator, On — London, United Kingdom

VIP & Casting Director, Alexander Wang — New York, United States

PR Intern, Alexander McQueen — Shanghai, China

6. How to Build a Luxury Outerwear Business

Ten years on from Moncler’s initial public offering on the Milan bourse, outerwear remains one of luxury’s hottest categories. […] After years of sporty “gorpcore” brands dominating the ski-wear space, demand is surging for more glamorous propositions that blend the technical performance needed on the slopes with après-ski (and Instagram) appeal.

These brands are leveraging the social media appeal of the mountain: for instance, Fusalp, which rose to prominence designing the uniforms for French Olympians during the ski boom of the 1960s and ‘70s, has been hosting lavish influencer outings in the French Alps to help raise awareness of its heritage. Now it’s taking the marketing programme to Colorado, where it recently opened boutiques in Aspen and Vail. An exclusive event for influencers and top clients is set for early this year at Aspen’s Caribou Club, followed by a ski-day and dance party at glitzy Mountain Chalet.

Related Jobs:

Performance Media Manager, Burberry — London, United Kingdom

Marketing Communications Instructor, FIT — New York, United States

Brand PR & Influence Lead, On — Shanghai, China

7. Why Primark Went All-In on Rita Ora

When Rita Ora walked the red carpet at the Fashion Awards in London this month, the singer donned a black floor-length maxi dress with an ultra low back and elevated square-neck. At a quick glance, the gown wasn’t so different from many of the looks Ora has stepped out in over the years (the prosthetic spine she wore on her back is another matter entirely) — except for its price tag: £50 ($64). The item is one of 260 pieces featured in Ora’s Primark collections — the first of which launched in September as part of a multi-year partnership between the performer and the fast fashion retailer.

Whether the collection delivers will hinge on Ora’s star power, how much consumers’ buy into the authenticity of her connection with the retailer, and the extent to which Primark can build on the partnership, most importantly via brick-and-mortar expansion, experts say. (Primark’s first US store opened in Boston in 2015 it now has 24 locations, mostly in the Northeast; H&M has over 500.)

Related Jobs:

Graphic Design & Marketing Intern, Cecilie Bahnsen — Copenhagen, Denmark

Senior Social Art Director, Bloomingdale’s — New York, United States

Communications & PR Assistant Manager, Coach — Tokyo, Japan

8. The BoF Podcast | Ashley Graham on Breaking Fashion Industry Barriers

After she was scouted in a modelling competition in Lincoln, Nebraska at the age of 12, Ashley Graham went on to break barriers in the fashion industry by becoming the first plus-size model to appear on the covers of both Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue and American Vogue.

“It started shifting the minds of agents, casting directors, art directors, editors to say, ‘Oh, this is where we’re going. The zeitgeist is turning, and it’s not just about what has been deemed beautiful for so long. Maybe we should think about what else is out there,’” she says. BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed sits down with Graham to learn how she became the most recognisable face of a global cultural movement and understand the personal philosophies that have guided her along the way.

Related Jobs:

Social Media Marketing Intern, Hugo Boss — Germany

PR Intern, Modeworld — New York, United States

Senior Partner Marketing Manager, Tory Burch — New York, United States