The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Ross will become the first Black woman to lead the world’s largest PR firm when she takes the helm on May 3. Previously, Ross worked as managing director of APCO Worldwide, spent 15 years at Ogilvy PR and also served as communications director for the US Department of Labor under the Clinton Administration.
Since last summer’s social justice protests, fashion PR has faced a reckoning of its own when it comes to making the industry more welcoming for Black employees, as well as other people of colour.
Among 73,000 people working as “public relations managers” in the US in 2019, 89 percent were white, 8 percent were Black, less than two percent were Hispanic or Latino, and less than one percent was Asian, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is similar for “public relations specialists,” of whom there were 137,000 in 2019.
Practitioners of this historically behind-the-scenes profession are building powerful followings, riding a wave of interest in how the fashion sausage is made. But even the highest-profile PRs caution that the client still has to comes first.
Join us for a BoF Professional Masterclass that explores the topic in our latest Case Study, “How to Create Cultural Moments on Any Budget.”
When done effectively, a cultural partnership can rightfully earn its own place in the zeitgeist. But it’s not so easy as just hiring a celebrity to star in an ad campaign; brands must choose a partner that makes sense, find the format that fits best and amplify that message to consumers.
Calvin Klein’s chief marketing officer Jonathan Bottomley speaks to Imran Amed about the strategy behind the brand’s buzzy Jeremy Allen White-fronted campaign.