The Fashion Industry Promotes Itself In An Annual After-Hours Extravaganza

From Manhattan to Milan, Atlanta to Australia, boutiques, department stores and even neighborhood pop-up shops across the globe will stay open after hours TONIGHT to help celebrate what many call the single biggest shopping event of the year (yes, even larger than ‘Black Friday’)- Fashion’s Night Out!

Having started in 2009 as a way to encourage consumers to shop ‘til they drop all in the name of supporting the fashion industry, this is an event filled with celebrities who want to be seen, designers who want to be known, and of course die hard shoppers (I included) who want those exclusive items that were virtually unknown and/or unattainable up until this very moment. Since its inception, Fashion’s Night Out has expanded to more than 15 countries, with each year becoming more popular than the previous. How you ask? Promotion of course, with a team of people behind FNO publicizing the heck out of it! And this year, they made sure to get the public’s attention in one of the top ways we’re communicating today- through technology and social media.

A special (and FREE) Fashion’s Night Out cell phone app was released earlier this month (for iPhone and Android) which allows users to receive real time event information with “around me” options that help them navigate throughout the night.  You can even communicate plans with friends via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, making a meeting at Jimmy Choo as simple as a few taps.

It’s a brilliant idea if you ask me, way to think like a publicist FNO.

~Shonte

LA Publicist Does Coachella

First off my apologies for being absent from the blog for so long. This can be easily explained by one word – COACHELLA. Yes, that beautiful yearly event in the Indio desert that welcomes all the bohemian, dance and music-loving folk of California and beyond to come enjoy a variety of bands, musicians, dj’s, acts, art and parties in a span of three days. While I have planned to attend this festival for the past three years (at least) this year marks the first that I actually swallowed the almost $400 cost of a ticket and embarked on the journey, and let me tell you… I am SO glad I did.

While I am not by any means a socialite or celebrity or anything of the sort, in my job as a LA public relations account executive I would like to think that I am a sort of tastemaker – someone who always must have their hand on the pulse of what is new, hip and attention-worthy. As such, Coachella was something that I felt I had to experience and now that I have I am definitely planning on doing it again!

For those who have never been let me give you a little Coachella tips, tricks and general info-

- Coachella is designed to incorporate an array of musical performers ranging from rappers to rock groups, electronic acts, acoustic performers, dance DJ’s, and huge headliners like this years, Kanye West
- Being that the music is so ecclectic, so is the crowd. At Coachella you will find people of all backgrounds, descents, style-types, sizes, etc. The people I encountered this year range from a man dressed entirely in a head to toe Gumbi costume, to Disney star Vanessa Hudgens, Victoria Secret model Lily Aldridge, and more
- IT IS HOT. The Indio desert is not one to be taken lightly. The sun is scorching and given that the concerts begin at about noon and last until about 1am it is highly advised to lather on the sunblock (I am now suffering like a crispy potato chip as a result of not doing this. Shame on me)
- The parties are half of the fun. While the music is amazing and you have to decide which acts you want to make it a priority to see beforehand, the parties that accompany the festival are an integral part of the experience. This year I attended the G by Guess Fool’s Gold party at the Oasis Beach Club and I had a fantastic time! Other parties going on included the 944/ SBE party and the Do Over. Either way there is no shortage of events to choose from.
- Wear comfortable shoes During the festival I made the mistake of losing a shoe and ending up in a wrong sized pair of mandals (man-sandals… don’t ask). This tradegy not only lowered my outfit ten cool points, it also left me with blisters the size of a small baby. Ouch

While there is no way that I could convey my entire amazing Coachella experience in one blog post, I definitely will say that I advise everyone try it at least once.
Reporting 5 shades darker, slightly sick and still in pain in my feet,

x Monica

New York Fashion Week via Twitter

While I would give any of my limbs to be able to attend New York Fashion Week, the fact of the matter is that I working at a pr agency you are pretty much busy all the time. The media never stops, and as much as I can daydream about sitting next to Anna, Tavi, and Rumi, I truly love my clients and can NEVER imagine an entire week away from them. While this reality leaves me in the company of the millions of others who are unable to attend NYFW, I can get a little closer to every strut down the runway, every graceful flow of chiffon, and the 100′s of pounds of fur thanks to the wonders of the internet.

Aside from the holy grail of websites when it comes to fashion (THEE style.com), there are today, more than ever, so many different places to get NYFW news on a constantly updated basis. With the many choices out there my favorite place to get up to the minute news and photos has to be (of course) Twitter. At this point, who DOESN’T have a Twitter account? Every big fashion magazine from Harper’s Bazaar to Vogue has someone somewhere tweeting, and this week, you better believe that “somewhere” is the runway at Lincoln Center.

My favorite newbie Twitter account just in time for NYFW has to be the Conde Nast Fashion (@CNFashion) account. A hub of tweets from the fashion and beauty editors of all Conde Nast publications, this account is a NYFW goldmine.

While I am sad to say that I am not one of those privileged few who gets to attend every show and every party, and that I will not end up snapped by Tommy Ton or The Sartorialist, I remain content sitting here at my desk at my LA Public Relations firm (where the weather does not dip below 48 in February), knowing that if I want the latest from the runway in New York, I can simply go to today’s newest source of news – Twitter.

x Monica

Twitter- More Than Just the Leading Social Media Tool

In the wake of this weekend’s tragic Tuscon, Arizona shootings that left 6 dead and 14 more wounded, among them Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, it becomes clear how significant social media is today and the role it has and continues to play in society. While many of us consider it to be a tool for simply staying in contact with friends and family or networking and meeting new people, it’s actually much more- an incredibly valuable source of news and resource to spread it.

Shortly before Rep. Giffords meeting with constituents held in a Safeway supermarket parking lot, she tweeted an invitation to the event informing followers to “Please stop by and let me know what is on your mind, or tweet me later.” Almost immediately after the shooting occurred, people shared details via Twiiter that Giffords had died. And just a few days later, media outlets were able to piece together the disturbed emotional state of the alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, thanks in part to his social media footprint (a MySpace page and YouTube video he posted). Meanwhile, an online vigil for the shooting victims was created on Tumblr, and people offered (and continue to offer) prayers and support for Rep. Giffords on her Facebook page.

Since its advent, social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and many others have played a significant role in informing you, I and the rest of the world of national milestones, weather and environmental disasters, and shocking and mournful events that seem to in some way touch and affect the lives of everyone- that can include just stopping and thinking about what happened for a moment, exuding feelings of sympathy and loss for those personally affected, or having a deeper reflection of the meaning behind the incident as a whole and how it translates into what the society of today has become .

According to a recent article on Buiness Wire, Twitter, which was created in 2006, is now the preferred method of social media users, and its popularity only continues to grow (it is estimated there will be nearly 200 million users by this year!). It’s exciting to see how the image of Twitter and its counterparts are changing and expanding, as well as know that while we will continue to socialize and share our thoughts, plans (and maybe a little TMI here and there) with others, we’ll also be sharing breaking news and information. Social media is among the leading forms of communication today and sets the precedent for where it will stand in the future.

Xoxo- Shonte

ECON 2010

This coming Friday, November 19th CalUniversity is throwing an event of epic proportions in honor of the first ever National Entrepreneur’s Day called Entrepreneur’s Conference 2010 (ECON2010). Free to attend, this conference will connect entrepreneurs with other industry members such as venture capitalists, legal professionals and angel investors, all of which can offer great resources and input on helping to grow a business. In addition, the conference will also honor several well-regarded entrepreneurs, including Spencer Brown of Rentagreenbox.com, Kristin Mangers of Webvisible and Andrew Warner of Mixergy.

Great for anyone starting or looking to start up their own business, we highly recommend this event to any and everyone who might be slightly curious. ECON2010 will take place from 1-4pm at the Pacific Palms Conference Resort at One Industry Hills Pkwy, Industry, CA 91744. To RSVP of for more details please click here.

x Monica

Trade Show Magic

Aside from booking press (which you can see we clearly do from the posts on the blog) one of the things that we pride ourselves on is helping to organize and execute trade shows for our clients in their various industries. Earlier this month we did just that with our client Olive Juice as they attended the ENK Children’s Club show in New York. Catering to children’s fashion, this was Olive Juice’s first time attending the show and we were there to help with everything from the booth set up to press appointments, sales, and of course, booth tear down. Overall they had an AMAZING show!! We were so happy for them for all of their success and thought we would share some photos of the process of creating a cool and attractive booth.

Here we are at the very beginning with a bare booth space setting up the most basic of necessities at a trade show, a table!

We added a stencil with the Olive Juice definition to one side of our booth. It was done entirely in chalk and we kept getting compliments throughout the entire show about how cool the idea was.

The most important booth asset of all… THE CLOTHES!

And last but not least, two adorable little models showing off some of the Olive Juice pieces in live motion

x Monica