THE INDUSTRY PANEL:

ANDREW FREEDMAN of ANDREW FREEDMAN PUBLIC RELATIONS -Known for: TV & entertainment PR

MAUREEN LIPPE and BILL DADDI of LIPPE TAYLOR - Known for: large number of beauty accounts

LESLIE STEVENS of LAFORCE & STEVENS -Known for: being a full-service marketing and communications agency

KATIE OGAN and LISA MARSH of OGAN/DALLAL -Known for: Fashion, luxury and liquor PR

MAURICIO PADILHA of MAO PUBLIC RELATIONS -Known for: Show production. Also do monthly press for fashion clients. All clients are fashion related.

LARA SHRIFTMAN of HARRISON & SHRIFTMAN -Known for: Event planning and fashion and beauty product placement.

THE CHANGING FACE OF FASHION
& BEAUTY P.R.

by Vivian Kelly

The LOL interviewed a number of fashion PR professionals, all of them leaders in the field. Between them, they have many years of experience. Their styles differ radically but nevertheless everyone we spoke to had some points in common that make-up the profile of a successful PR executive.

All seven panelists are seasoned professionals, irregardless of their age as they have all logged-in a good number of years in the field. They each have definite point of view and a passion for the business they're working in. Below is a sampling of their take on what is happening with fashion and beauty PR in the late nineteen nineties, as we close-out the millenium.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q1: LOL: When you look in the Fashion Calendar to check show listings these days, you see many more (Fashion & Beauty ) PR companies listed than say five or ten years ago. Why this increase in the number of PR companies? What is the function of a PR company? Have they, become more "boutique" oriented and focused on finding a niche in order to prosper?

ANDREW FREEDMAN:

There is continually the need to get the job done in the TV world and in the fashion world. You can never let-up with the PR. Many firms are good at signing a client, but not many of them understand what a client really wants. Boutique firms are hungrier and more aggressive, they are busy trying to create their reputation. In fashion, there is lots of hand-holding as well as the need to understand the client's objectives. The principal of the PR firm MUST be involved in an account in order to meet the client's needs. When you do grow to be a larger sized firm, it is your RESPONSIBILITY to maintain personal contact. After all, it is YOU they have hired. The way to stay in contact is by brainstorming with your people on the client's behalf. Remember, you're the captain and have a moral responsibility, and your reputation is at stake - always.

MAUREEN LIPPE

Part of the reason is that women's lives have changed so dramatically over the years. A women can now work at home, own her own company, and even start it from home. I was an editor at VOGUE and HARPER'S BAZAAR before I founded Lippe Taylor. PR offers women a great opportunity to excel and it's a great place for former editors. It can be difficult to go from buyer to seller, but you can do it. I want to make it clear that good PR is not just about sending gifts to editors. It is about IMAGE ENHANCING.

We write very strategic marketing based programs for the companies we work with. Example: when we took on Laura Mercier, we knew that we needed TO CREATE A BRAND and that is the strategy we have followed for her. Laura herself is an artist who has founded her company and creates high quality products that have integrity. Laura has helped us tremendously in our efforts by creating strong personal relationships with the beauty and fashion press. She's "the real thing" - she "does" Madonna, etc. but is low-key about the stars she works with.

BILL DADDI

I'd like to add something to what Maureen has said. The reason why there are more PR companies is because the PR industry is growing due to the lessening of advertising. Companies still need to reach consumers and they are increasingly doing this through PR. Why the decrease in ads? The consumer is OVERSOLD. Companies understand that they have to take a different tack now.

KATIE OGAN

There is definitely an increase in the number of PR companies who are working in fashion and beauty and a great credit is due to Fern Mallis and the CFDA for organizing the NY fashion shows. Thanks to this organization, fashion has become really hot and a lot of people want in. Liquor companies for instance have become involved as corporate sponsors for the CFDA during show weeks - Moet and Chandon and Hennessey, Dom Perignon and Ruffino wines.

LESLIE STEVENS

There are now many more companies to support. Companies used to think that it (image building) was all about advertising. Today, they're going for mediums such as the Internet, publicity and promotions.

LOL: Leslie - Can you pinpoint this moment, when overall strategy changed?

LS: An interesting theory could be that PR got a big boost with the advent of PEOPLE Magazine, IN STYLE Magazine, vehicles in which people saw luxury products being worn and promoted by celebrities thus vastly increasing those companies' exposure and enhancing their image. This could be a good subject for your next article!

Going back to what we started talking about, the FUNCTION of PR is to communicate a specific message, to create a really defined image of whatever it is you are promoting, be it a person, a company or a product. It's all about branding.

MAURICIO PADILHA

I took a look at what was going on in fashion, and realized that there was a major increase in the number of fashion designers showing their collections in New York. It's too much for designers to do all on their own. It helps the designers when we help them to produce their shows and also help them with the social angle of being a designer entails. For example, Charles (Chang-Lima) gets invited to everything (all of the fashion parties). There's no way he can go to everything, so I help him to edit down to what's manageable for him and take him to that great Visionnaire Magazine party and introduce him to people there who he should meet. The next party he goes to, he'll know people and can go on his own, and it gets easier as time goes on.

LARA SHRIFTMAN

There are a lot more fashion companies right now and they need the manpower PR companies can provide for events, parties, and product launches that these companies become involved in. When we are hired to do a launch or for a project, we come in and bring in a new edge, that's one of the big benefits the companies get when they go outside for PR.

Q2: Why did you form your own company? If you have a partner, what qualities were you looking for in your partner? Is having your own company easier than being an executive at one of the big firms? What was it like at the beginning? How is it now?

In which direction are you taking the company? What have you found to be most profitable? Do you have to be IN NYC in order "to make it" in fashion and beauty PR?

ANDREW FREEDMAN

My background is in television, I was a spokesman for NBC News for eight years in the 1980's. Now that I have my own firm, our specialty is in TV. coverage. We work with corporate accounts and television personalities. Within the TV world and the fashion world, many firms are good at signing a client, but there are not many who understand what the client really needs. Boutique firms are hungrier, more aggressive and are intent on building their reputation. In fashion, there's A LOT of hand-holding and the need to really understand the client's objectives. My wife is in the business with me, and being an artist herself, she's especially good at the hand-holding part of the business that requires a tremendous amount of patience. When you grow as a firm, it is your responsibility as the principal to maintain that personal contact.

MAUREEN LIPPE

To give you some background on myself, I've been a spokeswoman for many major companies: Unilever, Dove Soap, and many more as well as having been on many talk shows. Because of this, I got to understand the local media. At the Lippe Taylor Co. we do tons of local and national media. We love radio too as I believe it's an untapped opportunity.

The reason I formed the company, was that I felt PR agencies were not relating to the editors. When I was a beauty editor at HARPER'S BAZAAR, everyday I got a shopping bag filled with product and a press release. It seemed obvious that there was a need for a more creative way of going-about reaching the editors.

KATIE OGAN

Why did I start my own firm? Because Evelyn (Dallal) forced me! Ha ha! And now I'm really glad that she did. Before we created Ogan Dallal, we worked together at a trade association in the menswear field. Ogan Dallal started as a mix of entertainment and fashion PR. We had Dennis Davidson working with us in London and were getting B/C level entertainment accounts. At the same time in New York, very early on, we started signing-on great men's and women's wear clients.

At the end of the first year we dropped the entertainment part of the business. One of our first big designer clients was Marianne Restivo. We continue to do lots of press shows - front of house that is. Some people we work with? Bagdley Mishka, Kenneth Cole and the young designers who are affiliated with the Moet show, (Robert Danes, William Calvert among others.) We stay out of the show production however. There are others, such as Kevin Krier, who do a great job with that.

Our next step was becoming involved with the liquor companies. Five years ago, Shefflin& Sommerset had decided that they wanted to have a presence in the fashion industry. We work with Moet & Chandon - they have sponsored the CFDA shows and many other fashion events. They have made a COMMITMENT to fashion and now have programs world-wide in every major fashion capital.

LESLIE STEVENS

James and I both had experience, we knew we could do it and we were willing to take a risk. Owning your own shop brings you a totally different set of responsibilities. You worry about 401K plans, insurance, the phone bill. I've always felt incredibly responsible to my clients when I was working at a firm as well as now when my name's on the door. It's just me - I could never let people down.

When it comes to my business partner James (LaForce) - I just can't say enough good things about him. He has an INCREDIBLE work ethic, he's enthusiastic, nice, and a great writer. I am the luckiest person!

About how it was "in the beginning" - TERRIBLE! I like to tell people that for the first month if the phone rang three times in one day, it was my mother calling! We were in a beautiful but tiny space on Union Square West - maybe 10' by 20' - something like that. There were five of us. Then, AMC (American Movie Classics) came through, our first big client. It took a few months to really get going, and now, three and a half years later, we're up to 45 employees and have a few floors in our space on 21st street.

What is most profitable to us are our clients who are on a monthly retainer and a one year contract. Most are, and they're our bread and butter and hopefully, every year they'll renew. We've been expanding into media, and the Internet, which is the future. We rep a website co. called MYBASICS.COM where you can buy products by companies such as Neutrogena and Clairol for up to 20% that will deliver them UPS to your door. It's great!

MAURICIO PADILHA

I started MAO with one employee, Michelle Perez, who worked at FASHION FILE TV and at Spooky (a now-defunct women's fashion designer). We hooked-up together while doing press at Spooky, which my brother was designing. We had an incredible response to our press efforts at Spooky and when it closed-down, I decided to found my own company and took Michelle with me.

I started MAO one year ago, in January 1998. We worked out of my apartment until September when we had enough clients to get our own space where we are now in Soho. So far, so good. Our first client was NY Models, then we got Searle, who wanted more editorial girls in their shows and more editorial coverage in general. We've done really well with them, a couple of two page spreads in American Vogue, among other things. Charles Chang-Lima came on board and I just found out that Madonna has called and ordered four items from his show last week - some gorgeous leather kimono jackets. We're extremely excited! All of this aside, in PR you have to deliver. I try not to take too many clients because I want to be able to keep my promises to them. It makes me feel good that everyone who has shown with us has come back to us to have us produce a second show.

LARA SHRIFTMAN

As the topic for my senior thesis at NYU, I wrote about what fashion editors want out of a PR company. After I graduated, I went into business with Gucci Timepieces as my first client. Everyone kept telling me to get a partner and when I looked around and talked to editors, three out of the six people I spoke to told me to go with Liz (Elizabeth Harrison). Liz is great, we're a good match. She'd had different experiences working with different people and we totally complement each other. She loves to do the things I don't like to do, and vice-versa.

Q3: Describe your dream client. Are clients fickle or loyal? How much time do they give you to prove yourself? Should it be longer? What is reasonable?

ANDREW FREEDMAN

The IDEAL would be someone we can become passionate about. They need to be talented but not necessarily famous - YET. For example, we took-on Valeria and developed her public image as a personality by getting her on LETTERMAN, EXTRA and E!. IN STYLE covered her getting married in a Bagdley Mishka wedding gown. (The IN STYLE piece ran in the February 1999 issue). In GLAMOUR, she was profiled as a "jet set" PERSONALITY in her own right, not simply a model, in their "beauty on the go" layout.

Also, sometimes, it's a client who's willing to stretch themselves - to do something completely unexpected, "out of character." I convinced Barbara Walters to go on LETTERMAN and she sang the theme to "the Latin Quarter!" THAT stunned a lot of people.

As far as "proving yourself " goes, we lose some, we get some, everyone does. The older I get, the more seasoned I become and that helps in developing our relationships. It helps tremendously to know every possible thing about a client, especially when your client is a personality, because this gives you insight into where they're at. If you're armed with maximum information, you can suggest another angle about your client to the reporter you're dealing with, and help them get their story. This way, they look creative, you and the client get coverage, and everybody's happy.

MAUREEN LIPPE

In general, we have mostly long-term relationships. If we are not offered at least one year to work with a potential client, we will not sign them. The IDEAL is a client who understands what PR will do, trusts and respects us and will allow us to take risks on their behalf. It's also important that they have a good understanding of the fashion and beauty business.

BILL DADDI

Maureen, I'd like to add something. My ideal is someone who sees us as an INTEGRAL part of their marketing program. Fortunately, this is happening more and more. In the past, companies would traditionally say, "Let's do some PR" - kind of like an aside to their main marketing thrust.

KATIE OGAN

An ideal situation is to have a client who works with you, is loyal and who gives you as much time as you need to get the results you're after. They really need to be willing to give you a year, minimum.

LESLIE STEVENS

The ideal client - a REALISTIC one - would be one who understands the nature of PR, allows us to be creative and is a team player and doesn't fight us on our ideas and strategy for them. Overall, our clients have been pretty loyal, we haven't lost that many. We've grown at the rate we have because we've kept a lot of them. To see RESULTS, bearing in mind that magazines require a four month lead time, the bare bones minimum we need is 6 months, a year is much better, of course.

MAURICIO PADILHA

Definitely Vivienne Westwood, because she's the type of client you can push the envelope with but she's also an established name meaning that she's a business AND she's well known, a great combination! I've looked up to her since I was a kid. Doing her PR would be a dream come true.

LARA SHRIFTMAN

A movie studio. That's the direction I want to go in. It combines events, product placement, the Hollywood scene, New York, everything. It's where the future is.

Q4: WHEN A CLIENT LEAVES. Why DO clients leave? I there a lot of client stealing going-on in the business? Do clients tend to be fickle, or to be loyal? Can you tell that about a client from the beginning?

ANDREW FREEDMAN

One thing I keep telling myself that I need to remember is that this is a PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP, that this is about BUSINESS. Someday, they all leave. The ones who stay are a surprise. As in everything, there are honorable people and there are snakes. There is an unfortunate perception about our profession that there's a lot of hustle and hot air to it. Poaching happens, ultimately that's up to the client. Everyone wants to be courted. Anyone who's in the public eye is susceptible to someone who comes along and feeds their ego. What it boils down to is that clients need to realize what's realistic.

MAUREEN LIPPE

Most clients who leave do so because they are not being serviced in the way that they want to be. It is vital for senior management to meet with the client and to be actively involved as part of the team that is servicing the account. The goal, after all, is to become indispensable to the client. Our focus is on LONG TERM relationships. We spend a lot of time working on our relationships and long term relationships are what build your reputation as a firm. As far as poaching, we haven't experienced this. There are enough clients to go around for all of us in the field.

KATIE OGAN

Clients leave for one of these two reasons: they are dissatisfied or they had unrealistic expectations that could not be met. When we get new business, two senior people go on the business call and if we get the account the client gets a team that includes a senior account executive. Everyone who works for me is a full time employee so they are all very knowledgeable and up to date as to the status of the accounts they work on.

LESLIE STEVENS

Generally speaking, when a client leaves it's for one of three reasons: financial - they can't afford to keep doing PR, or they decide to bring someone in to do the PR in-house or the chemistry isn't right. We're very wary of the potential client who has a track record of having a roving eye; of someone who tells us they've had seven PR firms in three years.

MAURICIO PADILHA

I have never had a client leave. I should say, those that have ?left? have done so because they've gone out of business.

LARA SHRIFTMAN

Of our clients, only a few have left, and then it's been mostly mutual. We get lots of projects, that's a lot of our business. Bigger agents have poached our clients. As far as what I do is concerned, I don't take clients away from other PR companies, nor do I solicit clients that I know already have a PR company working for them.

Q5. RECRUITING YOUR STAFF: This question applies primarily to entry-level hiring. What qualities are you looking for when you're hiring? What kinds of credentials are necessary? Who "makes it" in this business, and can you tell from the very beginning? How important is the work ethic as part of a successful equation?

ANDREW FREEDMAN

You can ABSOLUTELY tell. Interviewing is like an audition. It's like someone was made with the right computer chip for this (PR). I want someone who "gets it". By that, I mean someone who has a voracious appetite for understanding the world of media, and that is all-inclusive: who the editors are, what the trends are, watching E! and all of the news shows. Having said all this, it's very hard to find the right people. PR is NOT a 9-5 job. You must live and breathe it and follow popular culture. Generally speaking, I like them young and fresh, without bad habits and attitudes. I love interns! THEY have the hunger and enthusiasm I'm looking for. We pay our interns a per diem and they get college credit too.

MAUREEN LIPPE

We're looking for someone who's service-driven. Often, they'll intern for us first. I like the Newhouse School of Communications for entry level candidates. At a senior level, I'm looking for someone who knows the category and who has the contacts. Crisis management is crucial at ALL levels whether you're an account coordinator all the way up to the Senior VP. on the team.

BILL DADDI

A journalism background is important so that they understand how a news organization works. Lots of self-motivation, ambition, drive and desire are part of the equation too. There are two sides that have to be present in an individual: the technical skills, writing, etc. and then the more tenuous part of the equation, having an understanding of people and how to best deal with them.

KATIE OGAN

I do lots of hiring at the entry level. My three requirements are: #1: a writing test, #2: that someone have the right personality #3: a feeling that the person will be able to stand on their own and will grow in the position. I knew Lisa would be great, and had been impressed by her background. I'm happy to say that I was right about her!

LESLIE STEVENS

Everyone who interviews with us has to take a writing test - it's mandatory. They also have to be personable, enthusiastic, flexible, and equipped with a sense of urgency, when it's required. I want people who are interested, know what's going on and who want to be out there. In two months you know yes or no, if they're going to work out.

MAURICIO PADILHA

At this point, I hire a lot of full time freelancers. I've just hired one full time person and that's working out really well. For shows, I have a crew of two people that I use every show season that have worked with me back from my days at Ghemma Khan.

If I were to hire more full time people, here's what matters to me. I'm not looking for degrees in PR or tons of experience. I want people who are fun, likeable, and who have common sense too. They have to be able to work with the editors or broadcast producers to get credits. It made me so happy to hear from people after the shows who came up to me and told me how friendly my door staff people were to them. It makes me feel good because as PR people, we are the liaisons between our client and the public.

LARA SHRIFTMAN

What I want is someone who is very smart, detail oriented and has a vibrant and effervescent personality.

Q6: Who in your mind has defined fashion and beauty PR? If you were to hand-out an award for excellence in the field, who would you give it to?

ANDREW FREEDMAN

Eileen Ford for her work in beauty PR.

LIPPE TAYLOR

I would give my vote to a BRAND that has sustained itself over the years. Calvin Klein comes to mind, in the clothing and fragrance categories. Everything Calvin's done has always been appropriate to the era it played to. He's moved seamlessly from waifs and tattooed teens to wholesome men and women. He is truly directional.

KATIE OGAN

I'll let Lisa answer this one.

LISA MARSH

In recent history, Tommy Hilfiger is someone who's shown himself to be a mastermind in marketing. He's created an incredible amount of hype and now he's got the Rolling Stones tour that's bound to generate a tremendous amount of publicity.

LESLIE STEVENS

Keesha Keeble is an icon in the field. She had an incredible aura to her. She's a legend. I was privileged to have met her when I was starting out. Eleanor Lambert also should win. She's the "grande dame" of fashion PR.

MAURICIO PADILHA

I'd like to give a slightly different answer to this. Right now, there's no one who is actually a PR person who comes to mind. As far as someone who's really been a champion of young designers, I absolutely give credit to Isabella Blow. She believes in her friends (eg: Philip Treacy) wears their designs and editors believe in her and pay attention to the talent she's championing. She's appeared on the covers of magazines promoting her "friends" designs. I think that's really great.

LARA SHRIFTMAN

KCD does fantastic fashion PR and Desiree Gruber of Rogers and Cowan is an individual who's really outstanding in the field.

Q7: A lot of fashion firms, especially the big houses, have their own in-house PR. Why the dramatic increase of usage of an outside firms such as your own?

ANDREW FREEDMAN

Sometimes, the in-house PR gets taken for granted and an outside firm is looked to as being the salvation. Management will bring in an outside firm and try to create a friendly but adversary relationship between the two. The idea is that what will come out of this are some incredible ideas. Unfortunately, this strategy does not always necessarily work.

KATIE OGAN

If the client is from outside the NY City area, they hire outside PR because they want the contacts and media coverage a firm can generate.

LISA MARSH

Outside firms can come-in handy when the in-house staff has experienced cuts. When I was at Structure, we hired an outside firm and immediately had a larger group of people at our fingertips.

LESLIE STEVENS

A lot of companies hire from the outside primarily for projects: to help with some or all parts of a fashion show, to help organize and put on a big party. I'd say the majority of the work is in these areas. If it's a client who is based overseas, they'll use an American PR firm that they think has a good knowledge of the American market.

MAURICIO PADILHA

I've noticed that some clients want what someone else has. They want to be Gucci or Prada. What I try to do for them is to bring a newness, an edge to what they're doing, to their image. Some clients already have great in-house PR. Where we come-in is to bring a whole new young team to put on their shows, to take some of the stress off the in-house people. Sometimes, that's all we do, and after the show the in-house people carry-on what we've started. Hopefully with the show, we generate excitement with the press about the collection.

Q8: We've established/already said that P.R. has changed in the past few years. Sue Rolontz of the TOBE REPORT once said that "the hallmark of a great PR person in that they are never in the paper, all mentions and press coverage are about their clients."

In a sense, the PR person is an "eminence grise" as was Cardinal Richelieu of France who advised King Louis XIV of France during the seventeenth century. Do you agree or disagree with Sue's statement? What did you think of the recent NY Magazine article (Dec. 7, 1998?) entitled "Power Girls" written by Vanessa Gricoriadis?

ANDREW FREEDMAN

I couldn't agree more with her. A PR person must remain TOTALLY and completely behind the scenes. Your job is to create an environment in which your CLIENT looks good. I think people are forgetting who the star of the show is. Now these girls (in NY MAGAZINE) may have very good intentions, but this situation reminds me of the old films that Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland used to star in. You know, the ones in which they'd say, "Hey gang, let's put on a show". And that "show" would only be for their friends.

Assuming the article is accurate, my problem with it was that the individuals interviewed did not take more of an opportunity to direct more of the attention towards their clients. I also agree with what Peggy Siegel said in the piece, ("Any 23-year-old can hook up a phone and buy a laptop and call themselves a publicist"). I'm 44-years-old and to me and the Peggy Siegels of the world, PR is not a hobby, it's a profession. It's something that I'm in for the long haul.

MAUREEN LIPPE

Personal press is not something we go after, but I'm not against it as far as other people are concerned if that's what they want to do. As far as the NY Magazine article goes, as a PR firm you just have to be very careful not to get burned when the focus is on you. These girls sound as if they're smart, and are having some fun in the bargain. Players like this jazz up the industry a bit. In the end though, the key to PR is to make yourself indispensable to your clients.

BILL DADDI

I am in absolute agreement with Sue. Clients don't particularly want to see their PR people get written-up about in the press. The focus of a PR firm should be to bring opportunities and new relationships to their clients. It's MUCH more than garnering editorial clips.

KATIE OGAN

It used to be that the PR company should stay out of the press, but these days it is good to have a recognizable name. We were mentioned when we signed a big client in a newspaper and it was significant because that was the first time this major company had hired PR. This is a very different kind of publicity than the kind in the NY Magazine article.

LISA MARSH

PR is very different now. For one thing, it's so incestuous, everyone's much chummier, and the lines are blurred between PR people and editors. There's a whole new breed of PR person that has come to the forefront because of this.

LESLIE STEVENS

We do not do it (garner personal mentions in the press). At least, we try not to do it. The press? attention should be reserved for our clients. If I wanted to be in newspapers and magazines, I'd have been a movie star! As far the the NY Magazine piece, all I can say is that I'm glad we weren't in it.

MAURICIO PADILHA

I agree with her (Sue). I have no desire to be famous or popular. I'll do things, such as this interview, because maybe it'll get my clients some attention. That's a good thing. I opted for PR when I left Parsons because I like to be behind the scenes, doing show production, pushing the collection. I get a great feeling of satisfaction from a show that goes-off smoothly. Sometimes projects come my way that I can use to a clients benefit. This producer, Abel Ferrera, is making a movie and wanted me to be in it, playing the part of a fashion model booker. I just couldn't do it but we're talking about using some of my clients such as Charles Chang-Lima and Searle for fashion show shots. Their show footage would appear in the movie if it pans-out.

As far as the NEW YORK MAGAZINE piece goes, let me qualify my answer. I don't personally know them and people do get misrepresented in our business. If however, everything written in the article were true, and any of those people worked for me, I would at the very least severely reprimand them for that sort of behavior. I might even fire them. Some of the things that were said were not clear to me either. Donald Trump is "wacked"?. What does that mean? You know, when the piece first came out, all of my friends were talking about it and I felt bad that I wasn't included. Then, I thought about it some more, heard some more reactions to it and later thanked God that I hadn't been asked to participate. We're in a difficult line of work in that we have to try to please everyone as much of the time as possible.

Q8: LARA, we've already said that PR has changed in the past few years. The NY MAGAZINE article (Dec. 7, 1998) written by Vanessa Gricoriadis entitled "Power Girls" received a great deal of attention in the fashion community. Were you pleased with the article? Did it have a positive effect on your business? Were your clients pleased by the press and attention the piece generated?

LARA SHRIFTMAN

It's had its positives and its negatives. On the positive side, the article opened up a lot of doors for us in L.A. (Harrison & Shriftman has a Los Angeles office). On the negative side, there were twenty-five factual inaccuracies in the piece, I counted them. There were "quotes" from "conversations" between me and my friends that NEVER took place. Every quote in there was hearsay. I had lunch with two editors-in-chief recently and I asked them what they thought. Once of them thought it was great, the other thought it was terrible. Overall, there was a mixed response across the board.

LOL: Thank you to everyone who participated for taking the time out of your nearly impossibly busy schedules, and for your candid answers. Also, a special thanks to Kristin McMullen and Loryn Greenberg for your help on the piece.

- END

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