If you’re a regular reader of BBB then you’ll know that I’ve somehow ended up with a fashion page for a paper. I’ve found it really hard to make the transition from beauty where I’m right at home to fashion where I struggle to get my head round a £1,000 pair of boots, am at a loss as to when combat, military or animal prints can merge for one look or divert piecemeal to another look entirely, and oh, the PR’s who don’t expect to be actually *telephoned*, but expect you to submit a request via email. To be fair, I’ve now got a good contact list of people that won’t bite my head off and are, in fact, positively charming..but every time I venture to new brands I just end up feeling that I don’t really want to be spoken to like that. So, it’s a tough call – of course I want readers to see the best that I can possibly find for them, but should I have to beg for it?
When I first started working in beauty (for a national), one brand refused point blank to send out any samples saying that I could only have images and yet, the newspaper shot all their own images so with no sample to send, I couldn’t actually feature the brand. Not that they could have cared less I might add, so there was no gratifying calls to ask why I hadn’t ever used them. Many of the prestige brands really don’t care whether they’re featured – they’ve got such stong advertiser relationships with magazines that they know they’re guaranteed coverage by their ‘top ten’ and as long as that happens, anyone else can whistle for it. It’s seemingly the same in fashion…and not where you might expect it either. I totally get that Chanel for example, may not want their brand to be featured next to Littlewoods in a spread, and prestige brands outright refuse to lend to certain publications because they actively don’t want to be in them! Never mind that one person’s money is as good as another’s. Back in the day, Jo Malone were really picky about what magazines they were seen in, and stylists used to end up having to buy the products from the Jo Malone shop in order to actually feature them in print. Crazy. There’s very little of that elitist attitude left in beauty now, thankfully.
But fashion still carries on with a madly superior stance – my worst experiences have been with ASOS, Topshop and H&M – certainly not the prestige brands who have been cautious but on the whole at least manageable pleasant. As with beauty, there are millions of fashion brands out there, all elbowing for print space to sure up their profits, so it’s easy to switch to another brand for a very like product. So, while I just refuse point blank to ever phone them again, really it’s like water off a duck’s back to them.
The forray into fashion has brought back though the ghastliness of the ‘gifting’ tiers…we all know in beauty that the key eds get the trips, the uber-gifts etc and that’s fine – I know it’s all about who you work for and not who you are – but while I genuinely don’t really care about the gift itself, I do mind knowing that exciting boxes are couriered left, right and centre to prestige titles, while, despite featuring some companies virtually every week, there’s no knock on my door! And, truly, it isn’t the gift (what exactly would I do with a weirdly angled dress in a ‘statement’ colour??) – it’s the tier system that does really stick in my throat and I know I’m not alone in that. There are lot’s of us freelance writers showing products to literally millions of readers that never so much as get a coffee. Oh, that reminds me, and it’s not particularly relevant but funny none-the-less, that someone did invite me out to lunch but stressed it would be a ‘sandwich’ lunch – i.e. cheap, on the very same day I knew for a fact that the same person was taking another (clearly more important) writer to a super-swanky dinner at the Ivy that very night. I did politely refuse the sandwich and happily bought my own lunch that day.
Fashion week starts next week, and there’s a marked difference for fashion bloggers. Whereas last year and the year before, it was all about the bloggers, this year, they’re finding it harder to get show tickets, and the magazine editors are sighing with relief that they seem to be edging back into their (perceived) rightful place. Hey, don’t say blogging was just a fashion?
So, this is turning into a real ramble of a post, and it’s not at all about wanting a superior status, gifts or even recognition for my work, it’s supposed to reflect an archaic system that doesn’t really acknowledge people, but publications, and all I’m saying is that it’s not always easy to work within it.
Worst offenders on the snoot-o-meter = COS.
Very interesting Blog post, thanks for writing it. Eye opening.
Thanks for writing this post. You have a gazillion followers yet you still have a very accessible tone to your writing.
I have only had my blog for a few months and I love it. It’s like my other baby. Often, though, I feel that it exposes me to the threat of rejection and feelings of inferiority. It feels very much like being the new girl at school wishing I was one of the ‘in crowd’. Just when I feel like I am really starting to get somewhere and good things happen, something else occurs to shove me right back in my place again. At events I have met some lovely bloggers but I have also met (or rather been ignored by) some not so nice ones.
Think my skin is slowly growing thicker and I suppose it’s worth it because my blog is a huge source of joy for me.
It is nice to know that we all experience these problems
Ree
XXX
http://reallyree.blogspot.com
It’s a really bizarre form of elitism and I sometimes wonder what goes through their minds. It’s all very playground. I can understand why it frustrates you! X
Agree with every single word…
I left fashion journalism in 2008, where I had worked for on various publications for six years. I started in weekly magazines – where Topshop, H&M, and ASOS refused to lend me samples (surely their key market?!) and even New Look wrote a letter saying they would now only lend to one journalist per publication (presumably to limit their coverage for these titles, totally bizarre…
When I got a job on a national paper, those same brands suddenly wanted to be my friend. You have to bite your tongue as you want to feature their clothes (and your editor expects you to) – and you know that the decision had come from higher up the rung that the press officers who had previously refused to lend to me – but still, it was very tempting to stick two fingers up to them.
When I moved to beauty, I was astonished at how much friendlier the industry was. I was walking around with a smile for weeks. Chanel hadn’t really wanted to talk to me as a fashion journalist on a national newspaper (although they certainly weren’t the worst offenders) – but here I was having coffee with the PR Director before I’d even launched a website… Everybody seemed friendlier, happier to help and genuinely grateful for coverage you gave them. I was also shocked that the journalists were so nice to each other (I was used to sitting across the catwalk glaring at journalists from rival publications!)
In beauty, the tier system doesn’t bother me so much – my experience with PR’s has been brilliant and I am grateful that I have been given so much support (especially in the early days before the website yet had viable traffic). I have noticed more interest in meeting me, gifting me, and asking me to events/trips since I started regularly freelancing for national publications – but I can understand that, as the website is still young and the online world is still a bit of a mystery to a lot of press offices and marketing departments. I guess that will change as the interest in online coverage and blogs becomes more and more important, but until then, I’m happy to allow those beauty eds to enjoy their angled dresses and leather handbags.
Just read your blog about the beauty/fashion PR world and loved it! It’s refreshing to read an honest account about how PR can work and the fashion world sounds exactly as I imagine it to be (and have heard it actually is!)
As a beauty PR I’m so glad we’ve moved on from this (for the most part anyway). And I’d like to point out, for smaller brands who don’t have the money to advertise or send fabulous gifts, any press coverage is genuinely appreciated (rather than expected). Of course it would be amazing to go on fantastic trips with editors, or have huge budgets to shower them with gifts and put on incredible events (therefore swaying them accordingly to feature products) and I’m sure I’d enjoy this as much as the next person, don’t get me wrong, I do however think working with smaller brands who don’t have these luxuries makes for a more fulfilling job
More importantly is the readers’ perspective and knowing the products they are reading about have not appeared “under the influence” (of said advertising/gifts/trips), but from genuine approval from the editorial teams/bloggers who are reporting on them in a real and truthful manner.
And surely this is more satisfying for the blogger or journalist too…?
I completely agree – H&M and Topshop are completely unhelpful! I’ve often followed up my various phonecalls and emails to hear the response: “I’ve had a problem with my emails/ the server etc.”. It’s so frustrating! Thank god for nice PR’s at French Connection, Karen Millen and Reiss!
Very insightful, and in some respects sad that the stereotypes of the sector are confirmed. I’m sure there are many that feel they get a bad rap from tags of the snobbery, rude variety, so these experiences don’t help. Bigger picture and moving with the times spring to mind…and also just some straightforward transparency. As BBB says, it’s OK to have preferences, a strategy, a target, but it’s all in the consistency and delivery I think. Plus..not missing an exciting boat just because it didn’t look shiny enough as it pulled out of port – once it has (and everyone’s on it) that’s not a great look!