Paul Morelli Boutique – Photos Ernest Shmatolla

Madison Avenue’s annual event celebrating the return to fall fashion and shopping – is back with a new initiative, “Step Up For Fashion On Madison.” Organized by the Madison Avenue B.I.D., the Saturday, Sept. 21 edition, 10 percent of sales from 30 participating stores on Madison Avenue between East 57th and East 86th Street will benefit the CFDA Scholarship Fund. This event promotes local businesses and helps support future fashion designers’ education.

Model on platform

“Step Up For Fashion On Madison” offers a diverse range of experiences. Some retailers sponsored a “platform style show,” replete with models standing on small outdoor platforms previewing the fall offerings and in-store shopping events.

These platform-style shows were held in front of participating stores at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Shoppers enjoyed refreshments at in-store shopping events and viewed the fall 2024 collections, creating an exciting and engaging atmosphere.

Carolina Herrera boutique – Photo courtesy Madison B.I.D.

It was such a lovely day that I decided to walk down Madison Avenue from 86th Street to 59th Street and see how this “Step Up For Fashion On Madison” worked. After stopping in about half a dozen boutiques and speaking to some models, doorkeepers, and managers, I asked if the models standing outside the boutiques attracted more store traffic and sales.

Bogner Boutique

The answer was pretty much the same everywhere. The “educated guess” of those I asked said store traffic increased 5-10%. One boutique owner said she got one new customer who made her day — while others lamented only sales from established clients.

Delcore Boutique

Some models were more enthusiastic than others standing outside the boutiques. Those ladies who were more friendly to the passing parade attracted more people to go inside, while other models stood unresponsive and bored.

St. John Boutique

While the event successfully raised money for the CFDA Scholarship Fund, it’s important to note that using models on platforms will likely not become a familiar marketing trend. Several managers shared the thought that their regular clients would not be keen on seeing them standing in the doorway.

Thus providing you with some perspective on the event’s impact.

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The start of the meeting – All Photos by Lisa Kato

The United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network Annual Meeting, co-convened by the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the Fashion Impact Fund are supported by Calik Denim, Lenzing, The LYCRA Company, and Renewcell.

The June 1 meeting was held from 1:30pm – 6pm at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, followed by an evening reception from 6pm – 8pm.

150 Industry leaders, media and United Nations representatives came together in 12 related panel discussions to highlight actions, solutions, and progress from the fashion and lifestyle sectors to advance sector engagement in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Considering the fashion and lifestyle sector’s significant impact on societies and the environment, this Annual Meeting reviewed how the sectors are mobilizing expertise, innovation, technology, and resources towards achieving a more just and equitable world. Its key objective is to explore how initiatives are fostering transparent, inclusive, and transformative engagement of global stakeholders guided by the Sustainable Development Goals.

Welcome & Opening Remarks:

Kerry Bannigan

Kerry Bannigan, Co-Founder, United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network and Executive Director, Fashion Impact Fund

“To date the Network has over 200 members in 64 countries who have pledged over 1200 commitments to the SDGs. Today’s meeting provides a platform for global leaders, experts and stakeholders to share their insights and experiences towards creating a more equitable and just sector that in turn will transform communities for people and planet.”

Annemarie Hou

Annemarie Hou Executive Director United Nations Office for Partnerships

“The presence of so many powerful voices and influencers gives me huge hope that the industry can become part of the solution.”

Members & Invited Guests:

Industry advocates, changemakers and voices at the annual meeting included Ginger Zee, Chief Meteorologist, ABC News; Steven Kolb, Chief Executive Officer, Council of Fashion Designers of America; Camilla Mellander, Consul General of Sweden in New York; Isabella Marras, Senior Programme Management Officer – Interagency Affairs, United Nations Environment Programme; Beate Andrees, Special Representative to the United Nations and Director, International Labour Organization Office for the United Nations; Ursula Wynhoven, Representative to the United Nations, ITU; Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO, Copenhagen Fashion Week; Saad Amer, Founder and CEO, Justice Environment; and Ngozi Okaro, Executive Director, Custom Collaborative; Madhu Vaishnav, Founder and Director, Saheli Women; Nkwo Onwuka, Founder and Creative Director, NKWO; Omar Salam, Founder, Designer and Creative Director, SUKEINA; Omoyemi Akerele, Founder and CEO, Lagos Fashion Week; Niccolò Sbaraglia, Head of Commercial Development, Polimoda; Laurence Carr, CEO and Creative Director, Laurence Carr, Inc.

Panel: Omar Salam, Founder, SUKEINA, Designer & Creative Director; Carmen Gama, Eileen Fisher, Director of Circular Design

The Panels:

In Conversation: The House of LR&C

Climate Action: Culture Advancing Impact

Responsible Consumption and Production: Scaling Solutions for the Global Community

Partnerships for the Goals: Harnessing Industry Collaborations to Achieve Transformative Action

Industry, Innovation and infrastructure: Designing a Better Future

Reduced Inequalities: Breaking Barriers to Achieve Inclusion for All

Quality Education: Fostering Creativity in the Next Generation of Fashion Leaders

Decent Work and Economic Growth: Redefining Success Across the Value Chain

Spotlight: United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network

Life on Land: The Role of the Lifestyle Sector

Reception:

Outdoor terrace overlooking the East River

The annual meeting reception, supported by Seedlip, included a Solutions Showcase highlighting network members sustainable best practices and innovations from Avocado, Calik Denim, Global Fashion Exchange, Lenzing, Made Trade, Nuba Arts x The Canvas, The House of LR&C and The LYCRA Company.

Contact:

For more information link to: United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network or contact Megan McAstocker [megan@fashionimpactfund.org].

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Lookonline.com is the first and the longest publishing fashion site on the Internet.

I want to personally thank our many contributors who, over the past 25 years, have helped our site continue to grow. First and foremost my editor-in-chief, Marilyn Kirschner, whose fashion expertise and determination have set the tone for our editorial coverage and the late senior editor of The New York Times Bernadine Morris, who lent her name, expertise and guiding hand to benefit our site.

Diane Clehane for providing us with first-class coverage of major fashion and entertainment events. Lieba Nesis for her high profile event coverage and Laurel Marcus for her wonderfully funny and insightful editorials. Vicky Tiel for her great Paris street fashion reports. A special mention goes to two photographers: Randy Brooke for his beautiful event photos and Bettina Cirone for sharing so many of her historical pictures.

Also, special thanks go to the late Susan Sommers for her naming our site. Adrienne Weinfield-Berg and Rhonda Erb, both good friends of Lookonline, whose special assignment reporting gave our editorial greater depth. Stacy Lomman, Anna Bayle, Isabelle Erb, Countessa Logan Bentley Lessona, and Muriel Geny-Triffaut for their contributions. And finally, Grace Mirabella the former editor-in-chief of Vogue for hosting our first three ‘Master of Fashion Video Interviews’.

And finally, I want to thank my wife Deborah Brumfield the former editor-in-chief of the Fashion Calendar for putting up with me all these years. Without her help and support, the Lookonline would not exist today.

-Ernest Schmatolla, publisher

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Many years ago, we used to publish editorial cartoons about people and events that were in the news. Below is a selection of our most favorites!

This was our most popular editorial cartoon. It referred to the launch of Talk Magazine by Tina Brown. Tina was prior to Talk the editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair. She was quoted by an insider source telling her employees that starting up a magazine was no easy task. They had to expect working late nights was part of the job. Of course, it was revealed that Tina would often leave early while those beneath her stayed late into the night.

The cartoon got a lot of media play. In fact, Tina’s office called asking if she could buy the cartoon! I responded by saying that Tina “could not buy everything and that the cartoon was not for sale.” The launch of Talk cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 million dollars and it closed after two+ years.

Anna Wintour rules at Vogue. An editorial about the Conde Nast cafeteria inspired this cartoon. It is a light hearted look at how some editors and models would follow her around like a gaggle of ducks.

This cartoon was inspired by the complaints editors were making about the long waiting times to get into fashion shows. Others complained of people accessing the shows without credentials. Then, some shows were being held up for important editors who were running late. When Mercedes Benz took over as the primary sponsor of the shows, security was tightened and we laughed at the idea of German efficiency and the strict discipline it implied.

This cartoon was a natural. Here Trump waits to interview models. On his desk are three pictures of John Casablancas, Bill Clinton and Woody Allen all wishing him luck. All three of them with dubious reputations. In this case, the truth turned out stranger than fiction.

As New York fashion week became more and more commercial, we suggested that IMG sell tickets to the shows. Well, it was not long after this cartoon was posted that American Express started offering ticket packages for a few selected show invites, skybox seating, cocktail party and meet & greet with designers for its cardholders.

The post Editorial Cartoons: Look Back At Our Favorites appeared first on lookonline.

For the first time during NYFW, the banner show, Made In Africa 2020, offered a set of eclectic and very pretty runway presentations from a pair of contemporary African designers, each with their own sort of message, at Spring Studios. And, while the groupings on the runway were completely different from the point of view of the designer’s individual viewpoint and statement, each premiere grouping had one common thread; i.e., speaking about/to the African connection between clothing, culture, tradition, aesthetics, et al, as a means of both beautification and body adornment.

“Every African person, every black person, is a king and a queen, and they should look at themselves in that way and never diminish themselves among society,” South African designer Laduma Ngxokolo said of the ‘We Are Kings and Queens’ theme for the Spring, Summer 2020 womenswear and menswear collections, under his label, Maxhosa Africa.Up until this week, Ngxokolo’s kaftans were in Bloomingdale’s (windows and specialty shop devoted to a tight group of African designers) as part of a pop-up inspired by Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King,

Throughout his new line, which for this editor is truly dandified and exciting, Ngxokolo stayed right on target with the theme, “We Are Kings and Queens” — showcasing a fresh take on his trademark vibrant colors (this time inspired by the colors of the South African flag). On his first NYC runway, the designer sent his models out in a dizzying array of moods and styles, all in the name of melding traditional African prints with a hip, modern/ancient touch. Here, white painted faces, reminiscent of the African tribal culture; wrapped and draped ruanas, capes, shawls; big, bold, gold rings, huge cuffs, bangles; traditional beadwork patterns across wraps and headwear.

Think “Coming To America 2 and Black Panther, since the designer’s work is involved with both films. But, what really puts the entire grouping into orbit are the kinds of different and dizzying; bright, bold, wild, often upside down and mixed-up, zigzags and graphic prints, shapes, silhouettes, etc., which Beyoncé highlighted when she blogged about Maxhosa in 2016.

Just about everything on this runway works, via a super-cool, super jazzy, totally fun, off the beat, fantasmagoric riff, which mostly always takes viewers into a sort of rich, royal, wowser, candy land, made up of varied parts and parcels of Missoni, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Gucci, Hermes… and, well you get the drift here.

Eliana Murargy’s, “Basking in the Osun River” grouping, directs her muse to “experience a re-birth in the sweet waters of West Africa, channel her protective deity, pay homage to the Aje; honor, as the woman who yields cosmic powers and her force of creation and sustainer of life.” Delicate, day to evening clothes feature fine tailoring and refined fit via flowing shapes, detailed silhouettes; hard-edged, soft, nubby fabrications in a myriad of rosé, beige, blue, pink, stark white, black; touches of vivid sparkles, textures, accents.

Highlights across the grouping: Luxurious, pleated gowns, flowy coats; pantsuits; sexy, tight, silver and pleather dresses with a defined inter-galatic quality, rendered in a range of vegan leather, natural cottons, silks and tweeds, bespeak Murargy’s take on a global, lifestyle brand, embracing strong African roots and a strong artisan craft. Everything comes full circle, via the hand-picked group of West African tailors, whose hand-crafting, finishing and details, complete the circle, resulting in a contemporary notion of what feminine beauty signifies for muses of all backgrounds and faces.

While the runway collection had some really good moments, hyped further via some out of the box, ethno-centric models wearing the clothing and accessories – the wrapped turbans, clear shoes, bold jewelry as standouts – the overall show came across as lackluster, tedious, boring, and repetitive. Without the strong editing, which was sorely needed here, there were just too many lookalike garments from one to the next; hard to discern, digest.

Sadly, the “best of the bunch” garments, which did appear from time to time, got lost in the crowd; never really had the chance to star and shine as brightly as they could or should have. And, what was going on with all of the depressing, funeral dirge music, which set such a bizarre tone to this show? Did nobody even realize that some quirky, pumped up, American, African house music could have taken care of business;, in terms of complementing the garments on the runway and giving viewers a fun, upbeat experience; definitely not the case in any which way on this runway.

– By Adrienne Weinfeld-Berg

The post Made In Africa 2020 … The Hip, The Cool, The Beautiful appeared first on lookonline.

Several weeks ago, I received an email informing me that Marilyn Kirschner, my editor-in-chief of Lookonline was “featured” in Bill Cunningham: “On the Street: Five Decades of Iconic Photography” published by Penguin Random House. Bill photographed Marilyn and took more pictures of her longer than anyone else.

I was surprised then to see she was not included in the chapter written by Vanessa Friedman, “Those Who Really Caught His Eye” (“the select few whose regular presence over the many years of Bill’s reporting were singled out as what might be called these days “Supermuses” or “Hall of Fame Muses”).

How do you single out some individuals who Bill may have photographed for only a decade or so (if that), and omit the one person who Bill photographed religiously for almost 50 years? There are two pictures of Marilyn in the book, only one is identified.

Marilyn first caught Bill’s eye in 1972 when she was fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar and Bill worked at WWD. He photographed her in every decade from the 70’s up until June 2016, just weeks before his passing. She appeared in his “On the Street” and “Evening Hours” columns almost 100 times.

In fact, Bill devoted an entire 18 picture column to Marilyn in 2001. It was on Sunday February 11, the first day of New York Fashion Week for fall/winter, and it was called, “The Color of Money (In the Bank)”. There are only a handful of people (Carine Roitfeld, Anna Wintour, Anna Piaggi, Iris Apfel, Patrick McDonald) who have been so honored. They are all included in Vanessa’s list.

However, it wasn’t just the quantity of the photos but the quality. Because appearing in one of Bill’s columns can often mean a thumbnail shot in a crowded layout (“Where’s Waldo?”) or a picture of a shoe. Marilyn was often the featured subject, sometimes appearing twice or three times in the same column.

Bill felt comfortable enough with Marilyn to ask her to pose for him. It was for a portfolio he was working on. He arranged to meet her the next day and he took some pictures outside. Both outfits subsequently appeared in his “To Horse, or Not” spread, December 9th, 2001. Bill emphasized to Marilyn that he never did this kind of thing.

As a rule, Bill did not grant interviews. However, he agreed to sit down with Marilyn for Lookonline’s hour long “American Masters of Fashion” Video Interview series. This video interview was back in 2003 and many years before other media sites had the slightest interest. (click here for video). Just before Bill sat down for the interview, he turned to me and said: “Marilyn is one of the very few people who really gets fashion.”

Bill often sent Marilyn highly personal, complementary, handwritten notes scribbled on postcards and photos. Some were photos he took of her praising her and thanking her for inspiring him and “bringing him joy” with her individual style. She shared them with me and I will share a few with you:

“Fashion week is great because I get to see you and your fashion magic in a new image each day. You have a truly special talent and its fun for me to record. – Bill Cunningham

“What a joy to see you last week. Your style is an inspiration. The flyaway mink jacket worn with a sweater and long kid gloves- fabulous. I realize fashion week will be great because of seeing you each day. Thanks for brightening up my day. – Bill Cunningham

“Sending you thoughts for the New Year and much appreciation for cheering me up when I have the joy of photographing you during the year. Your style is so special in our cookie cutter age of sameness. – Bill Cunningham

“You have such magnetic style and I look forward to NYFW and seeing you at the shows. Aren’t we lucky to be in a field of creating beauty?” – Bill Cunningham

It was wonderful for Marilyn to be noticed and appreciated by Bill. It is just as important for credit to be given where credit is due. I believe it was a glaring omission by the editors to not have included Marilyn in the “Hall of Fame Muses”. I know Bill would agree.

Comment, opinion or disagree? We want to hear from you below. You can also reach me at publisher@lookonline.com

• by Ernest Schmatolla, publisher of Lookonline.com

The post Publisher’s Editorial: A Glaring Omission appeared first on lookonline.

It seemed only fitting that Fashion Group International decided to attempt to answer a question that every retailer wants to know at their annual beauty event. The topic of discussion was: who is the new beauty consumer?

One thing is for sure, she’s not who she was five short years ago. She lives online, wants everything to address her very particular tastes and needs and doesn’t want anything reminiscent of her “mother’s legacy” brands.

The event held last Thursday, May 16th at the Roosevelt Hotel was the first without FGI’s longtime leader, Margaret Hayes, at the podium who always kicked things off by admonishing people to take their seats so the program could start on time. Hayes died in February after a long battle with cancer.

FGI is embarking on a new chapter with Maryanne Grisz, managing director events and operations running the day-to-day operations in coordination with FGI’s chairman of the board, James D’Adamo and the rest of the FGI board.

Grisz ably took the lead on this occasion as she welcomed a crowd of beauty, retail and publishing executives which included tables hosted by event sponsors Hearst Magazines and The Estee Lauder Companies as well as ones hosted by board members. LVMH Fragrance Brands and IFF Grisz used the occasion to remind attendees of FGI’s storied history within the beauty industry which includes having industry legends Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein among its prestigious group of founding members.

Grisz acknowledged Hayes by telling the audience the former FGI president “loved this event” because of her decades-long association with the beauty industry as well as her years as a senior executive at Saks Fifth Avenue before joining FGI. “We miss you, Margaret,” Grisz graciously told the crowd before turning the podium over to the event’s co-chairs Karen Young and Caroline Fabrigas.

But the order of the day was looking towards the future of beauty, and Carly Cardellino, the newly appointed beauty brand director of Cosmopolitan magazine, made it very clear in her overview which opened the program that it looks nothing like the past.

Cardellino focused heavily on how digital marketing and messaging is driving the beauty business because that is where ‘Generation Now’ lives. “It’s Gen Z and the millennials,” she told the crowd. Connecting with that consumer on a personal level is key to attracting their interests. But it’s not done in brick and mortar stores, said Cardellino. ‘Likes’ (whether or not you can prove they’ve been able to be monetized) are the new measure of success.

“It’s not like it was with our mother’s legacy brands,” Cardellino said. “It’s legacy vs. niche with brands like Fenty” which are appealing to the very specific tastes and interests of the beauty customer that will succeed. Nothing, she said, is as it was even a decade ago. Cardellino, herself a millennial and young mother, also made a point of throwing in a few swear words into her presentation joking, “I’m supposed to be controversial.” It raised a few eyebrows at the tables where more established (read: older) beauty executives were sitting but did underscore the generational shift that is clearly more than skin deep.

After lunch, moderator Lucie Greene, worldwide director of the innovation group at Wunderman Thompson led a panel discussion with three industry innovators. They were Rinat Aruh, founder of the branding and design agency Aruliden whose clients have included Google, NARS and BVLGARI; Yarden Horwitz, co-founder of Spate, the artificial intelligence trends platform for beauty and food which launched The Google Skin Care Trends Report, and Doug Jensen, vice president, consumer relationship management and corporate marketing analytics for The Estee Lauder Companies.

The post The Fashion Group International’s Annual Beauty Symposium: “The New Beauty Consumer” appeared first on lookonline.

For more information about these and other pictures contact Randy Brooke at fototogo@aol.com

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2000 Interview With Paul Cavaco – by Adrienne Weinfeld-Berg

Part 1: The Early Years

Some say that Paul Cavaco occupies a very singular place in the history of New York fashion and public relations because he’s made all the right moves. He met, married, had a child with, formed a business with and he says he learned all about fashion from former Vogue editor Kezia Keeble. Other industry pros say he’s just a sharp, lucky guy who’s been in the right place at the right time. He says he’s been influenced by people like Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon, Elizabeth Tilberis and Anna Wintour.

So, could it be he’s parlayed just the right mix of talent and moxie to reach and remain at the top of this volatile profession? Here, in this exclusive LookOnLine interview — one of only three he’s ever given to the press up to that time — Cavaco speaks candidly about the yesterdays, today’s and tomorrows of his unusual life in this special two-part story.

LOL: Tell us about your background.

PC: I was born in Manhattan in 1951 at Lenox Hill Hospital. My dad’s parents are from Spain. my mom’s dad is from Spain and her mom is from Cuba. I grew up in the South Bronx, Queens and Manhattan. I went to CCNY where I majored in English Literature. I was the first college graduate in my family. I was always influenced by music. I loved rock, Motown and The Beatles. My favorite television show was The Little Rascals. (Ed.note – You could have been Darla, Cavaco said to this reporter.) As a youngster, I had no idea about fashion; I didn’t know anything at all about it. My mom wasn’t into fashion and my family didn’t have a lot of money.

So, growing up, it really wasn’t about clothes for me. I only thought about clothes during the latter part of the l960’s because of the way rock stars dressed; the bell-bottoms and stuff like that, which I cared about. But, I was a hippie and everybody I knew was a hippie and so we all thought we’d have to go and live on a farm. We thought, who wanted to live in the city and have the life your parents had. But, now we know better. So, I became a Buddhist and I chanted. I packed crafts for The Tribal Arts Gallery. I really haven’t come all that far personally when it comes to fashion today. Basically, I still pretty much wear the same clothes I wore then; jeans, a T-shirt, boots, a coat and that’s the end of it.

KCD stood for the three principal founders: Kezia Keeble, Paul Cavaco & John Duka

LOL: Which person has most influenced your life in fashion?

PC: Kezia Keeble, without a doubt. She was my mentor. She was it. She taught me everything about fashion. When I met Kezia, she had just finished working for Vogue and she was running a jewelry company named Willie Wu with her about-to-be ex-husband. Since Kezia was an editor at Vogue under Mrs. Vreeland, she would tell me all these wonderful fashion stories and that’s how I began to learn about that world.

Kezia had been in Vogue often because she was an interesting editor and was photographed for the editorial pages even though she was never a model. I learned a lot about fashion just by talking to Kezia and I thought at that time fashion was really fun and so very glamorous.

LOL: You’ve obviously worked with some of the ‘greats’ across the fashion industry. Tell us some of the stories about those people who have had an impact on your life.

PC: There’s Bruce Weber, of course. He was a huge influence in my life. I worked with him a lot at the beginning of my career; a lot, a lot, a lot. He’s not only a brilliant photographer, but he’s also one of the most brilliant stylists in the world. So, to that end, he really taught me a lot about how to put clothes together. Plus, he’s an interesting human being. He was great to me because he allowed me to do anything I wanted to do with no barriers. He’d say, “if you don’t like this sweater, put it on as a pair of pants.”

The freedom and the education he gave me were really unique. And, he always had an open mind on the set, no matter what. He’d grab a bunch of clothes and say, “well, what about this?” Then, he’d put together some wild, crazy combination that looked so right.

Steven Meisel was another great influence for me. Like Bruce, Steven’s a good collaborator and a great teacher. And, like Bruce, Steven has such beautiful taste. So, I learned about that, too. I learned how to edit in a very particular way, which is a skill that has served me well through the years.

KCD and its divisions are currently involved in over 140 shows per year during the New York, London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks and in cities spanning the globe, such as Los Angeles, Beijing, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro

I loved working in my early days with Richard Avedon. He’s obviously one of the greatest photographers, ever. I was just a kid when I worked with him and the experience was incredible. I worked with him in his studio and we did GQ covers and lots of ads. He was like a dad to me; he was really careful and gentle with me. He’d always say to me, “where’s the surprise?”

So, from Richard, I learned that you can’t just dress the person; you have to go much deeper. You have to always delight the eye. You have to give an intelligent and quirky twist to your fashion. So, Avedon was great at that because he needed the surprise and he expected you to give him the surprise. If you didn’t, he was going to come up with that surprise all by himself and that would make you feel really dumb. So, that sort of kept you on your game all the time.

Elizabeth Tilberis was absolutely incredible. What was great for me with Liz was that she just let me be me who I was. She accepted me; never tried to change me at all. If I was petulant one day, she was fine with it. If I was in a good mood, she was fine with that, too. No matter what I was doing, she was fine with it. And, she loved photographs.

So, it was always great to bring her your shooting because she’d love it. She totally understood what it took to get it, so it was wonderful to have the person you’re answering to, easily understand what you went through. So, if a particular shoot wasn’t so good, she understood why it wasn’t the best thing you’d ever done.

What made Liz so special to me was that she allowed her staff to do their individual thing and make their special contributions. She was extremely professional but she was also so human. Every morning, you’d go in and have a cup of coffee with her. That’s how I started my day with her. We’d talk about work, kids, everything; so the humanity factor between us was there all the time. She’d toddle through the office; come sit at your desk and talk to you about everything and anything; it was a joy. The years I worked with Liz were full of joy.

LOL: How did you go about building your fashion career?

PC: In the beginning, Kezia and I were just dating and it was fine. We were living together and I was working as a waiter. I thought I wanted to be a writer. We ended up having a baby and we needed money. Kezia was doing freelance styling and because our daughter, Cayli, was being breastfed, I would bring the baby to Kezia and stay on the set. So, I watched her do the shooting and I began to learn from that. One day she wasn’t available for a job and since we needed the money, she said, “you go do it.” So, I just went out and did it. I got thrown into it and that was that.

KCD has banned Lookonline for over 15 years from any show or event they handle because of a criticism we made about them.

Right around this time; I believe it was during l976, Kezia started working with Bruce Weber for Esquire and Bruce hired me for jobs. He used me as a model for Esquire for college kids and then he told Kezia I was really good. He hired me for more jobs, but I wasn’t really styling. I was simply helping to put the clothes together because I was with Kezia who was now working for Esquire.

To me, I thought I was just helping out. I didn’t get that these were real jobs on real magazines. And, that’s how it all started. Kezia threw me into doing what I was doing just to make money. But, I really liked this crazy, new world and I thought it was so much fun. By now, I was 24. I was working all of the time and loving every minute of it.

LOL: So did Kezia Keeble discover Bruce Weber?

PC: He was already working, I think she was one of his early champions. She so loved working with him and thought he was so brilliant that every time she got a job, she would do it with Bruce. She always wanted to use him. And, when he got a job, he’d use her. So, I think their lives sort of inter-mixed. Everyone assumed that because Kezia was more established, she was the one who actually discovered Bruce. But, probably it was Nan Busch who was responsible for Bruce. Or maybe Bruce is really responsible for Bruce.

LOL: How did Keeble, Cavaco & Duka get started?

PC: That’s a long story. In 1977, Kezia and I formed a freelance styling company under the name Keeble, Cavaco. We just took any job that was given to us. Kezia worked freelance for American Vogue and thus, we also freelanced their menswear sections. I was like a market editor on these projects. When they needed men’s clothes for a particular shoot, they’d tell me what was needed and I’d go out and find everything. I also worked with Bruce Weber for Per Lui, which was a young Italian version of GQ. I worked with him also on Lei magazine, which was like Italian Glamour. I worked with Esquire, too.

Everything Kezia and I did was for the company and we did this successfully for many years. Then, in l984, Kezia and I divorced. Kezia re-married in 1985 to John Duka, who was a well-known journalist. Since we were all friends, we just came up with the idea to do a company together. We decided to focus on fashion advertising and Keeble, Cavaco & Duka was born in 1985.

KCD is staffed with over 100 employees worldwide in its New York, London and Paris offices.

LOL: Who were your clients?

PC: Bergdorf-Goodman was our very first client. We did their ads with either Steven Meisel as the photographer or Motts Gustafson as the illustrator. John did a gossip column to go along with the visuals and it was a really great campaign. Then, we did Trump Towers, which was illustrated by Tim Schaeffer. It was all about these giant, giant cartoons and they were absolutely beautiful. Then, John would go and do some crazy thing about people talking. The result was something totally different. Through the years, we had many, many clients. We had Versace and people like that.

LOL: Some say that Keeble, Cavaco & Duka is the frontrunner to the modern fashion PR agency. Do you agree? How did Keeble, Cavaco & Duka cross over into public relations?

PC: I suppose that because we were probably the first ones to incorporate fashion styling, advertising and then public relations into one agency, we might be looked at that way. But, for us, the development of a full-service PR agency was a long process and something that evolved from one specialty to another to yet another We knew we were doing the right thing for our clients via our advertising campaigns, but we also knew that if we lost a client, we’d lose our shirts.

LOL: What changes do you think have taken place in fashion PR over the past ten years?

PC: I do think KCD is as exacting today as it was when Kezia, John and I were running it. I think that PR firms in general have to be somewhat exacting because the world has become more and more commercial. So, yes, they’d have to be that exacting to keep with their industry and the changing face of their business. I think you see it and feel it when they’re not; for example, like when you go to their shows. I’m speaking personally about that point because I’m only interfacing with the PR agencies now on that level or when I’m getting clothes in for a shoot.

LOL: Which PR firms do you believe are best positioned to take advantage of the internet and its capabilities?

PC: You’re asking the wrong person. I just learned how to do e-mail two weeks ago.

LOL: Now that you’re Allure’s creative director what’s your current relationship with KCD?

PC: I remain close and personal with the owners, Julie Mannion and Ed Filipowski. Julie worked with me when she was 21 and just out of college. Ed came to me when he was in his early 20’s. So, you know they both spent a long time with me although I think Kezia was much more like Ed’s and Julie’s mentor than I was.

We worked closely together and we went through two deaths together, so when you do all of that together – you’re trying to run a company and you have two people who are an integral part of your personal and professional life dying – you just bond. And, there’s a child involved, too. Julie and Ed watched Cayli grow up; Julie’s known my daughter since she was 3 years old. So, you’re very, very close to each other.

Basically, they’re like my extended family. So, because all of us had been on the other side as editors and we knew we were probably the first of our kind to be on that side, we thought that we had the inside track when it came to public relations. We knew all of the editors as contemporaries.

We saw ourselves as the younger, newer type of public relations firm; a first of its kind, if you will. Plus, since we’d already been editors, we knew how editors just didn’t want or didn’t have the time to get inundated with a lot of junk. So, we took all of that into consideration and carefully edited out what wasn’t needed and gave the editors just what they wanted in a quick, innovative format.

Plus, we produced shows, as well, even when we were doing our styling. We produced shows for designers like Nicole Miller, Bern Conrad, Willie Smith for Williewear and Adrienne Vittadini. That was the very beginning. Then, we did shows for Chanel in America. We did a couture show for Vogue. We did lots of shows for lots of designers each and every season.

KCD’s seven global partners average 15 plus years of employment and work closely with Co-Chairmen Ed Filipowski and Julie Mannion, who have been with the agency since its founding in 1984

LOL: Who was the driving force behind the agency?

PC: Kezia, absolutely. She was so great because she was so inspired. It amazed me that someone could stay that inspired 24 hours a day. You could give her anything and she would just whip it up into some kind of real inspiration. She wasn’t difficult; she was just extremely exacting. I think because she was a woman and a woman who sat at the top of a well-recognized company over 10 years ago, a lot of people thought they would be able to take advantage of her.

Well, that didn’t happen. She might have had a reputation for being difficult or tough because she simply wanted everything to be perfect. So, if you were not perfect, she just made things perfect.

Now, I may be exacting, but I’m the first to admit that I’m not quite as driven in the same way that Kezia was. And, because she was trained by Mrs. Vreeland, she was used to a certain sort of caliber of work that’s expected of you. I think Kezia expected that of the people who worked for her and also of the people she worked for. She expected them to do great work and she wouldn’t settle for any less.

LOL: Describe your, Kezia’s and John’s role.

PC: I worked on all of the shows. If there were any shootings to be done, I did them. I didn’t do pitch work, but I’d come in if there was a problem. I was the calmest one there and the clients knew that they could vent on me. John was the writer, but he also did a lot of client pitching. Kezia’s role was the mastermind. A client would come to her and we’d say that we couldn’t take them; their clothes are hideous; they’re just not good. Kezia would say, “we’ll take them and we’ll make them good.” Everything and anything was a challenge for her.

LOL: Do you still love her?

PC: I still love her and not only because she’s the mother of my child. She was the most incredible woman and she played a major part in shaping my life.

LOL: What part of the PR business did you like the most?

PC: I liked working on the shows and I liked the many interesting people I met over the years.

LOL: What part of the PR business did you like the least?

PC: I hated most of it. I never liked soliciting people; it was always hard for me to call someone and tell them that they absolutely had to see a certain line. Some of the clients had unrealistic demands for what they wanted for their company. That for me was always the hardest thing to deal with. For example, a client not knowing who they really were with great expectations for what they should be. I always thought that perhaps they should just be what they were and allow us to do our job; to take that concept and promote it without changing or altering it.

Obviously, not every client is Versace; Versace is Versace and that’s brilliant; that’s fine. But, we had other, smaller clients who wanted to be Chanel; Karl Lagerfeld they’re not. You know, that’s a certain category and not everyone is that or can be that. You have to celebrate who you are and we simply tried to do that with our clients.

But, when a client is paying a great deal of money, they want to see a lot of results. You know, you can only do your best. So, I don’t really blame them and their unrealistic expectations. PR can only do so much; the client has to have a product that’s worthy of it in the long run. But, maybe that’s not really true in the broader sense. I guess the whole concept was just something I couldn’t grasp and I guess I wasn’t big enough to grasp it. I still don’t grasp it today and that’s why I wasn’t suited for public relations I understand the value of PR; I’m just not the person to implement it.

LOL: When and why did you leave Keeble, Cavaco & Duka?

PC: I left in 1991. Both Kezia and John had passed away by this time and I decided it was time to move on; to use my creativity in another area. I had a take-over arrangement with Julie Mannion and Ed Filipowski, who had been a significant part of the agency for several years, so I knew the business was going to go forward with knowledgeable people at the helm. When I left, they operated the business as partners under the Keeble, Cavaco & Dukaname. In l994, the agency became known as KCD and functions under that banner today.

LOL: How did you make the transition from Keeble, Cavaco & Duka to your position as a fashion director at Harper’s Bazaar?

PC: Liz Tilberis came to the magazine from British Vogue and I went to her and said, I want to be your fashion director. I’d known Liz for many years. Fabien Baron, who was also a friend of mine, was going to Harper’s Bazaar. He said, “don’t you want to go? It would be great.” I said, yes, and he said, “Liz is going to call you.” Well, she never called me, so I went to see her.

She said, “oh my god, I’ve just offered the job to other people.” Soon after, those other people turned down the job and Liz called me and said, “will you come?” I said yes, right away. It was probably fate; everything is fate, after all, I think. So, in the end, Tonne Goodman and I were the fashion directors and that’s the story.

Kezia Keeble discovers Stephen Sprouse and the agency produces his legendary show at the Ritz Club in 1984

LOL: Which PR firms do you admire today?

PC: Obviously, I still admire KCD. They’re the best in the business now and I think they’re great; I really do. I say this because I know them the best and I know about their integrity, both on a personal and professional level. For example, I think when you go to their shows, you really see that. It’s effortless to get into a KCD show. You just get escorted right in. Perhaps I’m treated this way because it’s my old company and they always recognize me standing there.

But, I only hear good things about KCD from my peers in the industry. People tell me you can just toddle right into a KCD show; it’s quick, it’s easy and there’s no front of house attitude going on. I also think Kevin Krier’s great. Bureau Betak is great. Overall, I think there are a lot of great PR firms out there, but for me, of course, Keeble and KCD are my family. what’s your current relationship with KCD?

PC: I remain close and personal with the owners, Julie Mannion and Ed Filipowski. Julie worked with me when she was 21 and just out of college. Ed came to me when he was in his early 20’s. So, you know they both spent a long time with me although I think Kezia was much more like Ed’s and Julie’s mentor than I was. We worked closely together and we went through two deaths together, so when you do all of that together – you’re trying to run a company and you have two people who are an integral part of your personal and professional life dying – you just bond. And, there’s a child involved, too. Julie and Ed watched Cayli grow up; Julie’s known my daughter since she was 3 years old. So, you’re very, very close to each other. Basically, they’re like my extended family.

LOL: Give us your thoughts on supermodels. How are they different today vs.when you started working with them years back?

PC: God, supermodels … I loved supermodels then and I love them now. I think I love them because I’ve worked with them for 23 years and I’ve seen them come and go. But, I guess that’s exactly what they’re supposed to do. They work for a certain amount of time and then they go off to their next thing. I see models as my collaborators. I couldn’t do my job without them. After all, they’re virtually the most important thing, you know; it’s the photographer and the model.

Contrasting the models of yesterday and today, however, I think there’s much more money involved now. But, are the girls the same? Yes. They’re still young women. They’re still very young. They’re still very beautiful. They still have long necks and long limbs. They’re still very thin. Were they anorexic then and are they anorexic now? No, because you can see that they’re basically healthy girls. Models are just genetically different than we are.

They aren’t your average people; they weren’t then and they aren’t now. And, I think that when people say that all models are anorexic, they’re not really looking. You can tell if someone’s anorexic; you can see it. You can look at these girls and you know that they’re not anorexic. They’re very young and young girls tend to be thin with fast metabolisms. Did they eat then and do they eat now? Yes, absolutely. And, I’ve always thought it was crazy for them to be picked on for their thinness. Do we pick on actresses for their thinness? Well, now we do. But, this is what models have always looked like and that’s how they earn their money and become the big stars.

I also think we’re addressing very different times when we think about supermodels like Dovima, Suzy Parker, Jean Shrimpton, Penelope Tree or Twiggy. We don’t live in as elegant a world anymore. Are the girls of today as elegant as say a Dovima or a Suzy Parker? Yes, I think so. Are girls like Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss or Giselle as elegant? Absolutely.

It’s just a different time and a different world. Today’s models represent the art and vision of the world we live in much the same way that Dovima represented the style and fashion of her time and that world.The body types are different and our expectations of beauty are different. You know, the more things change, the more they stay the same. So, I think that the models of today are just as elegant and just as beautiful and just as sophisticated, in their way, as the big models of years ago.

Part 2: “Modern Times”

Paul discusses working on his first issue for Allure, celebrity fashion, Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, James Truman among others…

LOL: Tell us your ideas about celebrities and consumer magazines. How do you feel about the current focus on celebrities in the press? Is Allure taking this position?

PC: Yes, we are. We have a huge, close-up shot of Winona Ryder on the January 2000 cover and a feature inside. I believe that most people are interested in celebrities and the movie star image. People have been impressed with movie stars forever. If you look back at Vogue, you’ll see that they started documenting society women early on. They photographed what these women were wearing, they covered their social events, they chronicled their lives, for the most part. And, the readers loved it because their lives were so different.

Now, society in that form doesn’t exist anymore. So, society to us; American society, really are our movie stars. They’ve always been the American royalty. So, it sort of makes sense that Mrs. Vreeland always used celebrities as models. Cher was a big Vogue model. Barbra Streisand, Julie Christie, Jacqueline Bissett; all big Vogue models. And, like the supermodels of today, these stars were the interesting faces of their time. They simply happened to also be celebrities.

Today’s celebrities are the new faces; they have the lives and the faces we relate to now. So, do I think Gwyneth Paltrow is of that caliber? Yes. Am I interested in Gwyneth? Yes. I’m interested in Calista Flockhart because I think she’s a great actress. Do I think it’s a great face? I think it’s an interesting face. You know, though, I don’t really want to know that much about anybody, in truth. And, I’m sorry that everything’s so de-mystified today.

I’m also sorry that we know so much about celebrities overall. I guess what having them on a magazine does is it glamorizes them instead of de-mystifying them as people totally. So, you at least have the illusion that they’re gorgeous. After all, life is completely an illusion anyway. But, I’m still sorry for the de-mystification of life.

In 2003, KCD begins a 15-year relationship with the CFDA Awards by reinventing the gala with a dinner table two blocks long at The New York Public Library

LOL: Grace Mirabella recently interviewed Geoffrey Beene for The Look On-Line’s Master Series. During the conversation, Mr. Beene stated that he feels clothing is really rather boring and uninspiring these days. What are your comments on this. Where do you think fashion is going? Mr. Beene also said that for him fashion has now become extremely celebrity driven. What do you think?

PC: First of all, I guess I have a very funny view about clothing in general. I think there’s clothing as art and Geoffrey Beene does clothing as art. I think that particular kind of clothing is beautiful, extraordinary and wearable. And, I think that there are just clothes. I like clothes. Do I think it’s uninspiring? Do I really want to see people looking a very certain way all of the time? I sort of like people looking normal. I just like that. Maybe other people don’t but I do because I’m personally very casual.

I prefer simple, easy clothes. I can be just as comfortable with a Gap or Adidas bag as I can with a Gucci. I like that it’s a pair of pants and a sweater. I think it’s chic. I like photographing that because I think you can then deal with the character of the person you’re photographing instead of it being only about the clothing.

But, yes I guess if you look back and see Balenciaga or Saint Laurent at his height, for example; then yes, there were extraordinary clothes. But, we still have that. But, we also have a bigger world right now and I think that’s fine because we also have the casualization of American and the entire world. People used to go to the theater and they got all dressed up. Not now.

On one hand, it’s sad. But, on the other hand, maybe it’s all these cultural things are now just an ordinary part of our lives, so they’re not so special as before. It’s not so elitist, so you know, somewhere that’s nice. Are you going to the theatre only to be dressed up and seen? No, I don’t think so; not anymore. You’re going to the theater to see theater; let that be the main event, the entertainment. It’s funny when I think about where fashion is going.

To me, fashion is always like a pendulum swinging and people are forced in each direction. So, as casual as it gets, your eye gets tired of it and you bounce back into things like beaded clothes, for example. Certain people are now wearing beads in the daytime and that’s something which was formerly completely relegated to the evening. And now, it looks fine; it looks right. But, I don’t think we’ll ever go back to real maximalism.

I think, though, everything is possible today because we have so much access to everything and anything. There’s no time gap anymore. You can get everything you want on the computer, on television and video; you can get any movie from any time period. You can be influenced by anything. You can go to your computer and call up any image you want on the internet.

So, I think that the ability to be influenced all the time by a million and twelve thousand things is now available to us. And, all of this is influencing fashion as we know it. All of this is influencing the world, movies and every visual we see. The world overall is much more of a visual place now; it just is.

Fashion is definitely celebrity driven and I think it is because people want to dream. But, I don’t think we really live our lives wrapped up in a fantasy world. I think that life is real; it’s here and now. You still wake up everyday and you go to your job no matter what. There’s no fantasy there. If you have children, you still have to take care of your kids. But, there is that moment when you want to think that life is prettier than the everydayness that we have. And, I have a great everydayness. I’m not complaining. But, it’s nice to think that there’s more. I think that’s the human condition.

We think we’re not enough, there’s not enough and the fashion/celebrity thing gives you something to dream about. There’s a whole other life out there. There’s a whole glamour thing going on that we personally don’t have access to in our own lives.

So, I think people love to see the movie stars and fashion together. It keeps them going, somehow. But, you know that when you work in glamour, it’s not glamorous. It’s just work. So you don’t really perceive it as glamorous. Would I want to be a pipefitter? Absolutely not. Is my life more glamorous than that? Yes. That’s my everydayness.

KCD Digital founded in 2010, making the agency the first to have a full worldwide division dedicated to online

LOL: Who would say is on of your most important mentors?

PC: I want to say a word about Anna (Wintour). I worked with Anna for three years at Vogue as a fashion director and even though I was way adult, I learned an incredible amount from her. I learned how to edit clothes, which was really surprising because I thought I knew what I was doing already. And, she really taught me to focus. I mean, I’d already been working for 20-odd years.

Obviously, her personality was very different from Liz. Anna’s personality was great with me because she was very precise and very similar in certain aspects to Kezia. I’d go in to Anna and we’d talk about what I had to do and it was handled in minutes. The years I worked with Anna proved to be an incredible learning experience.

Professionally, she was great to me. Personally, she was divine to me. So all of the things – the coldness, for example — I never experienced. She was warm and nice. But, she was tough. Not tough like tough; she was – this is her magazine – and she simply wanted to put the kind of product out that she wanted to put out. And so, you got on board. Or, you didn’t. And, I learned that with Kezia. You may not agree, but you have to align.

So, even though I didn’t always agree with Kezia, she was the head person. So, I had to align. If I couldn’t align, I shouldn’t be there. And, that’s the way it was with Anna. But, I mostly agreed with her because I think she’s an incredible editor. In the end, it was like the biggest learning experience, which is why I went to work for her.

LOL: Who’s is your muse?

PC: I think my 22-year-old daughter’s my biggest muse. I have to say that honestly that she’s probably my muse because I think she loves fashion. She’s stylish. She’s young. She understands clothes. She understands alot. She’s always telling me what’s new; the music that’s new and things like that.

LOL: If your daughter wanted to work in the fashion industry, what advice would you give her?

PC: DON’T! Look, I trust my daughter and I think she’s a very smart kid, so I don’t know if you can really advise anybody. She’s shown an interest to work in the field, but she bats in and out of it. She thinks she wants to. But, she’s genetically pre-disposed, I guess. Of course, I’d be supportive of her, absolutely, if she wanted to work in fashion and this is what she chose to do.

Riccardo Tisci’s unforgettable “Love Letter to NY” 2015 Givenchy Event on Pier 26 in TriBeCa

LOL: Which young designers do you feel have the potential to be great. Give us specific names and tell us why.

PC: Is Tom Ford considered a young designer? He’s been around for a minute, but I think Tom Ford’s a young designer. He’s established; fabulous, but still young. We’ve seen the tip of the iceberg. I think Narciso Rodriguez has great, great, great potential. He came out like gangbusters. He came out and competed immediately with the majors.

So yes, I think great things about Narciso. I think Thiemister is going to be brilliant because I love the clothes. You know when he hits it, he hits it great. Viktor & Rolf? They’re too esoteric. But, I don’t know enough about the work. To me, it’s too esoteric and I’m not so esoteric.

I think Alexander McQueen is really talented. Again, we’re looking at a baby; he’s only in his 20’s, but I think he’ll be great. Someone who’s a baby designer just got thrust into the majors. But, he hadn’t been working all that long and then suddenly gets thrust into the majors and does OK.

Was Calvin Klein Calvin Klein in the beginning? We look at these designers really far into their careers and we say they’re great. But, the beginnings are sort of not quite that. Do I always love everything everyone does? No, but do I take a closer look and think that there is a seed of brilliance there? Yes.

LOL: Talking about promising young designers, do you think Stella McCartney will take over the design role at Gucci?

PC: Don’t know; probably not because she won’t do fur or leather. I’d say no, just based on that, but …

LOL: Now that so many American designers are heading up the Paris houses, what does this say about the future of American designers in this country?

PC: Sort of great, no? I think it’s a good sign. I think when an American is chic, they’re chic. There’s no one chicer. But, that’s coming from an American, so you have to factor that in. But, I do love the ease of the American chic. So, I think it’s a great thing for American designers across the board. We’ve always been sort of a stepchild of fashion; you know, the commercial stepchild. And, the idea that the world is finally recognizing that there is a validity to being an American. I think people are looking here for talent and they’re finding it, obviously. Look at what happened to Gucci; they can’t even keep it in the store. And, that’s Tom Ford, an American.

LOL: Let’s talk for a moment about the future of the internet and the impact it will have on magazines. Take Vogue.com and its coverage of the collections. Do you think sites like this will alter or change the focus of magazine editorial as we know it today? Are you thinking that the internet and sites of this type will force magazines to re-think and re-do what they already do?

PC: I guess Vogue.com, at the moment, just gives you the shows right away. Am I right? But, I think what you want from a magazine is a point of view. We’re all using the same clothes, so yes, on the internet you can see all the collections right away. But, what you’re not getting really is the particular magazine’s viewpoint. What a magazine has always done is taken those clothes and done it for their woman.

The Vogue reader is different than the Mademoiselle reader; different than the Allure reader. It all crosses a little bit, but probably if you go across the United States, not everyone is reading all the magazines anyway. Like in New York, they all do. However, there’s a Vogue reader, there’s a Bazaar reader, there’s an Allure reader, there’s a Mademoiselle reader and what a magazine should do is give it to you in the very particular style of that magazine. The internet just gives you information; that’s it.

I can’t say whether or not the internet will ever replace magazines; the whole world will probably be on the computer sooner than we know. So, it probably will replace, but do I think right now? No, because I think people still want the tactile thing of a magazine right now. Ten years from now? Maybe.

And, even though it takes longer to get the information from magazines, people aren’t getting the same information from the internet. I still think that the information you receive from a magazine is different. You’re getting the same clothes but you’re getting them done in a style that is of that magazine. Maybe at a certain point, people won’t want want that. But, right now, they do.

In 2013, KCD becomes the exclusive fashion agency managing the Met Costume Institute Red Carpet for the Metropolitan Museum and Vogue

LOL: Who’s got the best job in fashion? Who’s got the worst job in fashion?

PC: The best job in fashion? Oh, Lord. I think the person who has the best job can say yes or no. I think James Truman has a great job – superficially. He can go to a magazine and say, “yes, this is working”; “no, this isn’t”. That’s not the truth of it, which is probably you have to consider people’s feelings. It seems like, “oh, that’s a job I’d like; to walk up and say, oh, I like that; I don’t like that.” I don’t think there’s probably any great job, but these are the jobs I always think I want.

The kind of job where you can say,”yes, no, yes, no, yes”. But, the best job would be to be editor-in-chief, although I think it’s probably the hardest and because the pressure level there is so high. Because, again, it’s like you always think, “I’d like to run a business; I’d like to own my own business. But, I’ve already had my own business and really, it’s like a double-edge sword. So, it becomes yes, when it’s working; not good when it’s not working. In the end the worst job in fashion? Probably the same one.

LOL: Where do you want to be in five years, professionally and personally?

PC: Lord. That I don’t know. I mean, I always say I want to retire. I want to take a seat. I always want to sit down for awhile. If I retired, I’d sit. But, I don’t really know what I’d do because I’ve never gotten that far. I’m thinking about that, though. I’ve always been thinking about that. What do you do when you’ve spent your entire life raising a family or going to work, let’s say. So, your life becomes a very focused thing leaving little time to think about what else you’re interested in.

I’ve lived my life; I’ve gone to my job; I’ve done my job and all of that. So, I’m trying to figure out what I’m really interested in other than fashion. I was driven by fashion; obsessed by fashion. I loved fashion. I loved working on photographs.

Would I start another PR company? Never. Would I start my own magazine? Never. Would I want to be a farmer or an actor? Never. Would I want to live on a commune? I don’t know. I mean I really wish I knew. I’d love to say that I want to become a potter and just sit and do ceramics all day long. But, I’d probably go insane. So, I really don’t know. I think it’s the next phase in life. I think it’s like graduating from college and when you reach that point, you suddenly think, “oh, my god. What am I going to do now.”?

LOL: But, don’t you think now you might be at the Doctoral level?

PC: Yes, but I still think it’s the same process. You still have to figure out what it is you really want to do; how much, if anything, you still have or want to learn.

LOL: So, are you still learning?

PC: Always. Every day. Every day, I don’t think so, but I am.

LOL: Do you ever think that your next job might be as a grandfather teaching fashion to your grandchildren?

PC: I hope it’s not my job. I don’t know what it’s going to be next for me. I mean do you know what it’s going to be next for you? Oh, you do? You see, I just haven’t gotten that far yet.

The post KCD: How One of the Most Powerful New York Fashion PR Firms Got Started. The Untold Story… appeared first on lookonline.

We all know that with hard, deceptive work and a good dose of moxie it’s possible to get over on the world, at least temporarily. The New York Times ‘The City’ section article “No Invitation? No Problem!” reveals a whole industry of such hard workers where gate crashing is an art you can learn in a course at The Learning Annex (how New Age to offer a curriculum ranging from gate crashing to Deepak Chopra, everything you need for this life and after.) I almost admire this kind of cleverness and drive as long as it is motivated by some true purpose: true purpose may be to serve your own career but it should also contribute something to the industry. The career gatecrashers are disturbing when they only take and never give back, there for themselves and not the industry.

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Ultimately it is our works that carry us through and if your work does not legitimately give you reason to be there, then you are taking the place of someone who does. But that’s the rub. Let’s say you are the next Marc Jacobs, young, talented, charming. Or a budding Guy Trebay, Alexander Fury, Vanessa Friedman, Michelle Leed, Robin Givhan with bon mots bursting in your brain. Or the next Anna Wintour, Aimee Song, or Imran Amed. But you have no connections and no idea how to get them. You want to get IN, into the industry, into the fashion shows. How do you do it? Below is a guide, a kind of “how to.” But be ready to back up your endeavor with hard work, talent and time. All others need not apply. This is not an overnight miracle. BUT, hook up with the right guardian angels and you may find yourself in some pretty magical places.

GET A JOB:

Perhaps it sounds silly but the first step is, get a job, any kind of job. Whatever area of the fashion business you are interested in, find work as close to that dream as possible. Do not limit yourself in what you do. Persevere. Work in the industry is a foot in the door. And with that foot in the door you meet people, make connections, learn about the business, discover mentors, hear about other job opportunities — even get invitations to fashion shows and parties. Andre Leon Talley started his career sweeping the floors of Andy Warhol’s Interview offices. Marc Jacobs worked at the once influential fashion boutique Charivari while attending high school. Anna Wintour worked as a fashion editor’s assistant at Harper’s Bazaar.

If you can, find a company with growth potential. A low level job can turn into a high level career with that same company. Admire Prada, Rodarte, Calvin Klein, Ralph Rucci, Alexander Wang, but cannot get work in the design room? Get a job in one of their stores. Want to be a stylist? Find a photographer and develop imagery together to build a portfolio from which you can get paying work. Or assist another stylist from whom you can learn. Want to be a photographer? Go to school. If you can’t afford a full course load then take classes. And use YouTube.

Photographers I know, working photographers, use YouTube videos to learn how to use software like Photoshop. Then shoot, shoot and shoot some more. Offer model agencies new-model test-shoots to help build their and your portfolios. Try and borrow clothes from young designers who then can use the photographs for their own promotion. Be there at the ground level and perhaps you can become part of the team as success comes to you all. There are many different areas in the industry; work in one may lead to work in another. Become friends with fashion industry folks using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn. It’s “not about mainstream thinking” says Mary Loving a more than thirty year veteran of the fashion and public relations industry. “To be successful you have to be creative and bring a new ingredient to the business.” That new ingredient may very well be, your Self.

INTERN OR VOLUNTEER:

If finding a job is difficult and a paid internship is not available then find an unpaid internship. Use job sites like Indeed.com, Glassdoor. LinkedIn or dedicated intern sites like Internship.com. Google internships and see what comes up. Interested in media? Try mediabistro.com. Cold call. Especially in the months immediately prior to Fashion Week, there may be a need for extra help. Interested in Public Relations and Marketing? Try PR companies. Interested in design try fashion houses. Production? Talk to the companies who put on the shows and serve as backstage support. Offer your services as a volunteer. Be a dresser backstage. Even though you are offering up your services for no pay, make sure you have an up-to-date resume and any work samples to show why you should be selected. And if there is nothing available now, they will have something to keep on file for future. Follow up, to keep those connections alive, by checking in or sending updated information and work samples. Stay on their radar. Work hard, be responsible, be reliable, and what was for no pay can turn into a paid job.

START A BLOG:

Start your own project. If you write, create your own website or fashion blog. Publish your pieces on LinkedIn, Medium or pitch them to the Huffington Post Daily Beast or Yahoo. Use site services such as WordPress or BlogSpot or Tumblr or Pinterest. With a blog you can join with other fashion blogs and gain industry exposure through the group, contributing content to such network sites as Independent Fashion Bloggers. If you don’t write particularly well make it visual. Take your own photographs or hook up with a similarly ambitious, talented, young photographer and share the images on Instagram. Make videos and create a YouTube channel (YouTube is second only to Google in search engine popularity.) Promote on your social networks, especially those with the largest audience and engagement Facebook, and Instagram. Learn about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and hashtags to gain a wider audience. Create inspired by what you love and put your heart, passion and hard work into it.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA:

Well-established personalities and influencers who have sat front row at major fashion shows, landed high-profile advertising campaigns and magazine covers and launched multi-million dollar businesses have been born from blogging. Some have morphed from “blog” to full-fledged media entities as The Business of Fashion has. Others simply begin with social media. All ultimately use social media as leverage, posting, pinning, sharing, tweeting and Snapchatting their way to greater audience, influence and notice. You can emulate any one of them if you have the talent (every year major fashion sites including Fashionista and Elle do their most influential blogger roundups.) If you are not as creative, you can curate the work of others, industry news, favorite photographs to build an online social media following and gain the attention of the infuencers. Follow and connect with them. Like, retweet, regram, and share their work. Comment and engage with them. Join groups on LinkedIn and participate in their discussions. Build your network in whatever way you can.

GET CONNECTED:

Find out what’s going on. (Publisher’s note 9/2/2016) The bible of all bibles in the fashion world was the Fashion Calendar (Fashioncalendar.com.) Sadly it is now owned by the CFDA and is no longer what it once was when publisher and founder Ruth Finley owned it. Still, some events are listed on Fashion Calendar.com with contact names and numbers. The problem with the Calendar now is many events, especially high profile ones during fashion week, are not always posted along with many shows held at other venues. They do offer a special show calendar at a reduced price.

(Publisher’s note 9/2/2016) IMG NYFW The Shows The Shows also offers press credentials to their designers shows for members of the press and buyers if they think you qualify — for fees ranging from $80-$100. However, even a press credential is useless without also having a designer invite. A designer invite means you have no need of a credential! You do receive a designer contact list for your money and an official-looking badge — but that is about it. The credential is pretty much a waste of money except for the photographer’s credential which potentially gives access to show media risers.

If your budget is more limited lookonline offers good information in exchange asks for your support ($59 contribution for 1 year) — as well other features to keep you in the know. Supplement this with other sources. Fashionweekdaily.com, BusinessofFashion.com, New York Social Diary, Vogue.com, fashionista.com, WWD (now online only and will always contain fashion show calendars but not contact numbers,) New York Magazine, the New York Times, and other online fashion/blogger sites are among them.

Many events will be by invitation only. No invitation, no access. If you are a legitimate member of the press you can request coverage of the event but your access may still be limited according to your ranking in the media food chain. Legitimate means your work, writings, photos, and video footage appear regularly in a venue or several venues. It could be your own venue. If you are an employee of standing either in the retail, magazine, internet or television worlds, you may get an invitation but even this is no guarantee depending on space. If you are not “important” enough to be invited check with your fellow workers, your boss or your network of connections for an extra invitation.

The good news is oftentimes, especially at fashion shows, arriving early with an invitation can get you in. Be warned however, the more well-known designers may also have a list of names at the door. Sometimes they can even check for I.D. Launchmetrics (formerly FashionGPS) handles invites for many NYFW shows and may look to match photo I.D.s with names on invites. If you are not on the list you are not in the door, invitation or not. As a last resort you can go to the event. Extra invitations are hard to come by, you may even risk a reputation as a gate crasher but it is a good way to meet people in the industry. You might, during fashion week, find free passes to parties being held at clubs around town. This is the beginning of your networking.

Sometimes there is standing room access. If you are willing to wait in line for everyone else with invitations to be let in first, you might find there is room left over. First you have to get to the check-in table. If you can get in the door and get to the check-in table, make your case for why they should even give you standing room access. If you can make that happen, you may get in to see the show. Many times you would be surprised how many big shows you can get into if you are willing to just make the effort and show up! And finally, if you can spend an entire week at the shows you can try becoming a volunteer with IMG New York Fashion Week. They recruit quite a number of volunteers to help run the shows. Just don’t wait for the last minute!

AND NETWORK:

Fortunately or unfortunately connections count for a lot in any world and especially the world of fashion. Make a powerful enough network for yourself however and it can even compensate a lack of talent. If you are not the daughter, son, niece, nephew, friend, you must make your own connections. If you are considering school attend a school in Manhattan, the capital of American fashion; F.I.T, Parson’s, Pratt, L.I.M., School of Visual Arts. Go out. If you have deep pockets, join the Couture Council of the Museum at FIT. Go to clubs, art openings, hot restaurants (even just for a drink at the bar,) parties, fashion shows, any industry functions you can get into. Meet people. Get yourself on mailing lists, become active on social networking sites frequented by industry leaders. Be seen enough and there are those who will invite you because they want you to be seen with them. Of course you must look fabulous, fabulous enough to stand out from the crowd. Make a statement; a fashion statement followed up with sincere hard work. It is the only true path to making your mark in this business.

– by Laurie Schechter

About Laurie: She created Rolling Stone’s first fashion section, pioneering its style, format, and publication schedule. Laurie is the first and only Vogue editor to successfully handle the “View” and “Living” sections simultaneously. Laurie Schechter has also reported and styled fashion stories for Allue, EIle, Interview, Conde Nast’s Traveler, Spin, Harper’s Bazaar, and Town and Country magazines. She has done trend forecasting for various major fashion retailers, footwear companies, and television programs.

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