Oh, Lowly Blogger? Your Seat's in the Back
Couture’s cyber-clique still pulls up the rear at Fashion Week. But times are changing, slowly …
For two years, Kelly Cutrone, the brash headmistress of public-relations firm People’s Revolution and frequent guest star on MTV’s The Hills, has banned Julie Fredrickson, editor in chief of Coutorture.com, from her fashion shows. In a well-publicized incident that was covered from MSNBC to MediaBistro.com, Ms. Fredrickson said she quietly asked Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour if she could get a video interview at Costello Tagliapietra’s Fashion Week show in Bryant Park in September 2006. Ms. Wintour agreed, but after just two questions, “Kelly went apocalyptic on me and told me to get away from Anna immediately,” Ms. Fredrickson said. This is what happens when you are a blogger who crosses a publicist.
“Oh, this is one of my favorite stories,” Ms. Cutrone said in a raspy voice over the phone on Labor Day Monday. “I was just telling a bunch of interns about this at 3 a.m. last night.” Ms. Cutrone explained that Ms. Wintour had shown up an hour early to the designer’s show and that she wanted to accommodate her carefully. “As a producer, you live in fear of things like this happening, of an editor getting bum-rushed for an interview that they clearly did not approve or want to do,” she said. Ms. Frederickson had rights under Fashion Week’s video policy to ask for the interview from Ms. Wintour, but she didn’t check with Ms. Cutrone first.
“I kind of feel like, ‘Hey, you know what? You’re 22, you’re poorly behaved, you made my life a living hell,’” Ms. Cutrone added. “I don’t care about these people who are trying to further their own career off my back. I don’t need that.”
Ms. Cutrone isn’t the only publicist still flummoxed by what to do with, and where to seat, the fashion bloggers and photographers who are still struggling for a toehold in Fashion Week. With nearly 100 designer collections for spring and summer 2009 showing over eight days beginning Sept. 5, it would seem like there’d be plenty of room for anyone who cares about fashion even the tiniest bit to find a slice to make their own, whether for a Tumblr or for Tatler. But we all know this isn’t how things work. And publicists still worry about Web writers causing friction when they bump elbows with celebrities and VIP R.S.V.P.’s from glossy magazines at their designers’ shows. Who knows what such fashion-obsessed, outer-borough riffraff might do!
Even trusted fashion-industry darlings, like Scott Schuman, who left his job as director of the men’s fashion department at Bergdorf Goodman in 2005 to nurse his sick daughter and take digital pictures for his Web site, TheSartorialist.com, and Style.com, has found that PR companies “look down their noses” at him.
When he returned to the runways four years ago as a blogger rather than a buyer, “you could see them kind of looking at me like, ‘Whatever,’” Mr. Schuman explained over the phone. “There’s such a class system. Editors are here and treated a certain way and photographers are treated a certain way, and friends of the family are treated a certain way. In the beginning it was confusing to them because they were like, ‘Is he a photographer? Is he an editor?’
“I’m probably a pain in the butt because I’m going in and out of the venue taking pictures,” he added.
Natalie Hormilla, Fashionista.com’s associate editor, has had similarly lukewarm responses from publicists in the past. “Are we getting front-row seats at Ralph Lauren? No,” she said over the phone. Sometimes she can get good seating at smaller designers, she said, when there are empty front-row spots because more notable guests didn’t show up. And that helps with getting the snapshots for quick posts.
“When you’re a blogger, you need to take pictures, so technically you need front-row seats more than the people who are just writing about the clothes,” Ms. Hormilla said. Next Page >
Last season, The Advice Sisters reported on more than 25 shows and events at Fall 2008 Fashion Week, and we reported and photographed 30 shows for Spring 2008 Fashion Week. These archived reports are accessible through our blog's archives, and accessed every day through search engines. Individual reports and features of shows are also often picked up by other sites. Mentions of Fashion Week routinely appear with throughout the year on advicesisters.net's long-standing fashion and beauty review column called: "What Works. http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html.
In the past, Fashion Week was a small-ish event, with buyers and press assembling in the designer's showrooms and modest venues to see the collection. But thanks in great part to IMG (and also to our celebrity-obsessed culture), Fashion Week has become a star-studded "cricus" that brings lots of interest. Everyone from legitimate press, to people with cameras who just like taking photos of pretty girls, to a constant stream of gawkers on the steps to the tents, wants to be a part of it. This makes it challenging for legitimate reporters of smaller publications. Those of us who don't work for the Style Network, Vogue, or another of the top media outlets. We also need to report on Fashion Week--and I think we do it in a fresh and exciting way for our readers!
The Advice Sisters have a great reputation online. We have no wish to compete with celebrities or huge media outlets. We feel that while we're not as "huge" as these mega-publications, we offer coverage that is more personal and therefore, more unusual.
As the Publisher and reporter for The Advice Sisters at Fashion Week, I completely appreciate the fact that designers and their publicists have to maximize the space they have in Bryant Park's small venues, by inviting buyers, sponsors, and mainstream press first. Ms. Cutrone, mentioned in your article, has NEVER invited me to a single show in nine seasons. That, I suppose, is her call--but the designers are missing out.
I would suggest that designers accommodate the smaller press the way they used to--away from the media crush of the tents, in small events at their ateliers. I, for one, would welcome the opportunity to actually talk to the designer and really see the clothes as they are meant to be seen--up close and personal--not from the back row in the dark!
I hardly agree that blogs are the Wild Wild West; I've been doing this for 3 years now and I am still surprised to hear people call this "new media." Blogging has been around for some time now and there are so many resources out there that will give you insight. Ms. Cutrone, I would love the opportunity to help you better understand it, so please feel free to contact me.
I do think each designer absolutely should review each blogger and their writing style before accepting/declining them for a show. Why not also ask for their LinkedIn profile so that you can review others recommendations on their work? Seeing the complete picture will make you more comfortable with who you chose, than to feel like you just need to write us off.
And in regards to what readers of print magazines expect---who do you think our readers are? They are one in the same. We are all on the same team with the same focus and the same goal-- to talk about our passion with those who share the same.
I'll be at Fashion Week in New York--but not only New York, I am a guest speaker at Milwaukee Fashion Week speaking on social media in beauty and fashion. I would surely love for Ms. Cutrone to stop by or anyone who wants to learn how to work with bloggers and get more out of it for their brand.
I'm a student studying PR and Marketing and one thing that all my professors stress is the impotance of new and social media. They encourage us to read blogs and keep up on them as they offer a diverse array of opinions. I love blogs and think that the writers deserve to get into shows. Readers are not stupid. Someone who reads Vogue knows that the editors are going to write positive feedback on certain designers because that same designer will buy ad space. It all comes down to the bottom line. whose making money off of what. Thats why I respect bloggers because since (most) are writing for free they are telling me the truth and not some fantasy. Mag editors need to get off their high horse. Hll some of them probably can't stand a designer but because thy're going to buy a full page ad, they have to say how "talented" and "wonderful" a show/designer/collection is. You (PR people) should want someone who can RELATE to the readers ro come to your shows and can deliver in real time. I read mags but hate that I have to wait to see collections a month or two later in the magazines. Hell if a blogger goes to a show tomorrow, by Saturday I'd be seeing pictures and knowing all about the collection. And I wouldn't have to pay $4.99 to read something and see their ad placed next to it.
I forgot to add one thing to my original comments. I have been online 16 years. As in any profession, I have had to earn my "expert" status by making personal relationships, and establishing trust. Most of my contacts are in beauty, and the people in charge of the fashion areas do not know me as well. Little by little I hope I am building trust and a reptuation with them as well. I understand that there are lots of "loose cannons" and that some people such as Ms. Cutrone have valid concerns about how their clients will be portrayed on the net, and who exactly is doing the critiques. I say it is up to her to do her homework and reach out to bloggers and internet writers with whom she can work, establish a reputation, and trust. As with print reporters....not all are equally qualified and not all are the same.
Honestly, as a blogger, I agree that blogger's should be screened prior to allowing access to Fashion Week; however, the antiquated assumptions of magazines and their editors is really tiresome. For one thing, blogs will have Fashion Week covered in a matter of days and the magazines will be publishing their content over the next few MONTHS. It's old news by then... plus with their payments exchanging hands, you can never truly tell if it's a good line or if the writer was just influenced by how much the fashion house or designer paid for the "review".
But then again, that's why I blog about makeup and skincare (www.bionic-beauty.com). I have absolutely NO desire for fashion. I'll be following the trends on makeup that appear on the runways, but only as a "how to adapt these looks so my readers can actually wear them".
I think my fellow bloggers who already commented said it well, but I wanted to weigh in as well.
I think most everyone knows that Blogs and Social Media are more and more the place to be. We can get the word out in minutes with a new post as opposed to the next day or month. I also don't believe you have to be a magazine editor only to be an expert. What makes an expert is a discussion that could go all day.
Oh and I certainly don't wish to be called "normal people", how boring and totally untrue.
I adore the fashion mags, and have read most of them for decades( so I do know previous trends and can tell you who wore what to an event years ago).Anyone remember Karl Lagerfeld's collection with cutlery as ornament? Loved it. I didn't just get interested in fashion yesterday. It's been most of my life.
Just remember though, that these so called normal people are the ones who buy all those magazines and read them cover to cover. The read blogs too. It's an information loving society and we can be in it together.
Oh , and we are not all trying to just make money either. Bloggers spend a lot on getting to shows. We have to pay for hotels, meals, etc. What we make from ads certainly doesn't cover any of that. Well maybe a cab ride or two. It's all about the love of fashion and beauty my friends.
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trocalliaco
I loved this article, and think it is in fact very insightful. As a blogger with two years of experience, however, I must say a few things in the defense of bloggers:
1. As stated in prior comments, bloggers cover shows with amazing rapidity, unlike any print magazine. Yes, blogging is like a Wild Wild West; however if anyone took the time to read blogs, they'd know that they are as varied as print pubs: Some are good, some are bad. Some are spell checked, some aren't. Some update everyday, some haven't been updated since 2007. I don't think a blog should be discredited by virtue of being a blog. Take a look and see if a. the blogger covers shows, b. has a dedicated readership, c. updates, d. takes this seriously. Blogging is an extraordinary time commitment, and anyone who loves fashion enough to update frequently and intelligently deserves to be in the tents.
2. The whole argument that editors 'know' about fashion and have a comparative view of past collections, etc is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, a select few journalists like Suzy Menkes, Ruth La Ferla, Cathy Horyn, Eric Wilson, and Robin Givhan certainly do. But when I go into the tents and see that some editorial assistant from Teen Vogue gets a second row seat while I'm perching from the 6th row, it's frankly infuriating. 1st, they probabaly know just about as much fashion as I do. 2nd, they probably got their mag gig not because of their love/knowledge of fashion, but due to some nepotistic action. The whole idea that someone who works at a magazine, regardless of level, is more informed is ridiculous. I will defer to the few stars named above, but the conversion from mag rank to perceived value at a show is still extremely unfair and unbalanced.
3. With the frequent updating of blogs, designers can know that they have the opportunity to have thousands of fresh eyes view their products daily. With limited page space, bureaucracy, and fawning to advertisers, magazines can't possibly include any and everything they see. It would behoove a designer (and PR firm) to court bloggers of quality, as their recommendation might drive more dollars to the bottom line than any mag ever would.
In sum, blogging is the future. Everyone can start a blog, but not everyone can maintain one, and not every blog is of the same quality. People should be treated according to talent and their ability to disseminate the crucial information. Magazines are still amazing, but the days of them getting unbiased preferential treatment must end. I'm sure everyone will be catching on soon enough...