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. What Happens When Coachella Is Just Another Concert

Last month, when Coachella tickets went on sale and did not immediately sell out, it touched off a bit of soul searching. The two-weekend music festival had, bit by bit and then all at once, built its identity as the influencer event of the year. Those tickets did eventually sell, but there was still a lingering fear among the selfie set: if 150,000 people showed up in the California desert and their TikToks didn’t go viral, did Coachella really happen?

It’s a pressing question for fashion and beauty brands, too. Coachella has played host to some of the industry’s most over-the-top marketing activations over the years, and turned niche labels into Instagram sensations. This year, Revolve Festival is down to one day, from two (the status of the region’s gas stations remains unknown at press time). It’s contributing to a general sense that Coachella is less essential than it used to be. Music lovers, influencers and brands now have their pick of all-day concerts.

Related Jobs:

Event Producer, On — Berlin, Germany

Senior Manager, Partnerships, Collaborations, & Events, Banana Republic — New York, United States

PR Manager, Zimmermann — Sydney, Australia

2. Unpacking Levi’s New Marketing Strategy

Levi’s is in the midst of a transitional moment. The nearly 171-year-old company, one of the oldest operating retail brands in the United States, is currently on a mission not only to shift how consumers consider Levi’s, but also where they shop for its products. Last year laid bare the vulnerabilities of the brand’s historic reliance on wholesale: in January, Levi’s announced it had missed revenue estimates for the fourth quarter and planned to cut 10 to 15 percent of its corporate jobs.

If the goal is to deepen consumers’ connection with Levi’s, prioritising stores is a good initial step, said Allen Adamson, co-founder and CEO of marketing agency Metaforce. There, shoppers can see Levi’s full assortment and talk to employees that are experts about the brand. “To change the fundamental perception of a brand’s image, they’ve got to go direct to consumer, because wholesalers don’t have the skill set and funds to do that,” Adamson said. “It’s a marathon, but they had to start in this direction.”

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Digital Marketing Assistant, Sarabande Foundation — London, United Kingdom

Brand Communications Manager, Smithe Studios — Los Angeles, United States

Senior PR Manager, Gucci — Seoul, South Korea

3. The Shared Future of Marie Claire and Who What Wear

Today, Marie Claire and Who What Wear are under one roof at Future Plc, the London-based publisher of titles like Shelter magazine, Wallpaper* and the quintessentially British Country Life magazine. The distinctions that used to set them apart have largely been erased — Marie Claire ceased regular print editions with its Summer 2021 issue, shortly after Future acquired it. In 2022, it brought print back in a more limited capacity and released two editions annually.

Rather, Future is treating Marie Claire and Who What Wear as the cornerstones of its plans to expand its US readership, combining Marie Claire’s legacy name recognition with Who What Wear’s digital know-how and entrepreneurial spirit. By rolling up disparate media properties, Future is also building a diverse arsenal to take on fashion media’s many challenges, from the dwindling online advertising revenue to the rise of independent newsletters and TikTok’s endless scroll of free content.

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P&D Communication Associate, Ralph Lauren — Milan, Italy

Senior PR Director, Gap — New York, United States

Communications Manager, Tapestry — New York, United States

4. Why Calvin Klein Needs More Than Jeremy Allen White to Grow

Calvin Klein may have gotten everyone talking about Jeremy Allen White’s abs in January, but it’s going to take a bit longer for that chatter to translate to a lasting sales impact. The campaign, which featured White in his underwear on a New York City rooftop, led to a 30 percent year-over-year increase in underwear sales in the week after it launched.

But last week, parent company PVH projected sales would decline 6 percent in the coming year, as weak wholesale demand and underperforming regions like Europe weighed. At Calvin Klein, fourth-quarter sales, including the month after the White ad ran, fell 8 percent in North America from a year earlier. The company’s stock dropped more than 20 percent on Tuesday. The ads undoubtedly did their job, which was to bring some buzz back to a brand that was in need of a boost [but] the dismal sales figures are a reminder that turning around a brand as big as Calvin Klein takes time — and more than just one campaign.

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Senior Marketing Manager, The Walt Disney Company — London, United Kingdom

Communications Manager, Amiri — Milan, Italy

Brand Director, Mac Duggal — Chicago, United States

5. The Independents Makes Its Second Acquisition in 2024

The Independents is buying The Sunshine Company, a consultancy and creative agency based in London and Los Angeles, the fashion communications company announced on Wednesday. The Sunshine Company has worked with brands across fashion and beauty, including Gucci, Diesel, La Mer and Victoria’s Secret, and specialises in helping brands engage in entertainment-centric projects.

Isabelle Chouvet, CEO of The Independents, said that the acquisition comes at a time when more brands, particularly in luxury, are looking to experiment more with bringing their brands to life through entertainment. With Sunshine under their wider umbrella, Chouvet said The Independents will seek to ink partnerships with major streaming platforms and more.

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Influencer Marketing Manager, Another Community — London, United Kingdom

Senior Retail Marketing Manager, The Bicester Collection — Republic of Ireland

Marketing & Special Events Leader, Bloomingdale’s — New York, United States

6. The New Backlash Against Social Media, Explained

Social media’s psychological effects on children have been the subject of mounting scrutiny in recent weeks. Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University, has provoked debates with his argument that the technology has disrupted childhood development and led to a surge in problems such as depression, anxiety and suicide. The view provides the basis for his new book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.”

On March 25, the day before the book’s publication, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a bill that’s set to bar many children in the state from having social-media accounts at all, one of the strongest sets of social media restrictions passed in the US to date. The science behind these fears is far from conclusive, however. Just as uncertain is what impact the debate, and laws like Florida’s, will have on social media and its users. Brands may not think about the matter much, but they are part of the content stream that keeps kids hooked, raising questions about how they should respond.

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Digital & Social Media Marketing Manager, McQueens Flowers — London, United Kingdom

Email Marketing Specialist, The Business of Fashion — London, United Kingdom

Marketing Communications Instructor, FIT — New York, United States

7. The US TikTok Ban Clears Its First Hurdle. What’s Next?

Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill with overwhelming bipartisan support that could ultimately lead to a forced sale of the mega-popular app — or a total ban in the US. Though TikTok may be best known for seemingly non-threatening videos of teens dancing or influencers promoting products, lawmakers have raised concerns that the app, owned by ByteDance, could be used by the Chinese government to collect personal data on or influence its 170 million American users.

If ultimately signed into law, the legislation — called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — would give ByteDance 180 days to sell TikTok or see it barred from app stores and web-hosting services in the US, upending the social media landscape in the country.

Related Jobs:

Media & Communications Manager, Tiffany & Co. — London, United Kingdom

Summer PR Intern, Modeworld — New York, United States

Social Manager, Coach — Shanghai, China

8. Lisa Frank Named CEO of Derris

Derris, the public relations agency synonymous with the direct-to-consumer boom, has named co-founder Lisa Frank as CEO, taking over the chief executive role from her co-founder Jesse Derris. “I’ve been here since the beginning, but we [Derris and Frank] both have evolved,” Frank told BoF. “This gives us new exciting ways to continue to be challenged. I’m staying here, but I’m able to evolve my own role.”

Though Derris built its name working with DTC brands, it’s since expanded its purview, and has worked with major brands including Google and Nike. Still, the DTC sector remains a key part of the business, with clients such as Reformation and Bombas. It saw double-digit revenue growth in 2023.

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