fashion 30s style

When celebrities aren’t on a designer’s payroll, they are being dolled up as leased mannequins. Designers dole out millions of dollars in free clothes to celebrities, socialites, and editors each year in the hope that they’ll be spotted in public wearing the fashions and be photographed. This has created a form of real-life product placement. It’s veiled advertising at its finest. The setup suits both parties: A designer gives a celebrity clothes; the celebrity wears them in public; a photographer shoots the celebrity in the designer’s clothes; a magazine prints a gorgeous shot of the celebrity with a nice fat credit to the designer; the designer and the celebrity get their free PR; sales at the boutique and the box office go up.

After Jennifer Lopez showed up at the 2000 Grammys in that now-infamous barely-there green Versace gown, her image was downloaded from the Grammy website 642,917 times over the following twenty-four hours. Versace was receiving publicity months, even years, later. Likewise, the appearance boosted J. Lo’s album sales and ticket sales. Placing clothes on celebrities is big business. New York PR agency Stylefile collects fees of $3,000 to $5,000 to facilitate the appearance of an A-List celeb in a designer gown. The company’s finest moment was luring Courtney Love into a white satin Versace gown at the 1996 Oscars. Love not only got to keep the gown, which was worth thousands of dollars but also managed to scrub her grungy image after only a few minutes on the red carpet. Like Stylefile, L.A.-based PR firm Film Fashion hooks designer clients up with celebrities who wear their clothing or accessories to awards shows, charity events, movie premieres, and other events.

President Susan Ashbrook used her experience as director of PR for Richard Tyler to start Film Fashion in 1994, reeling in a whopper of a first client: Ralph Lauren. Now Ashbrook places garments on celebrities for all types of public events. When client Iceberg Jeans sponsored the premiere of the 2001 Ben Stiller movie Zoolander, Ashbrook arranged to have up-and-comers Ashley Scott, Ashton Kutcher, Michael Vartan, and Gabrielle Union attend the event wearing Iceberg. In exchange for their attendance, Iceberg gave them their outfits, says Ashbrook. I consider this to be a barteringof services, which is how celebrity attendance is usually handled, unless it is someone with superstar status like Jennifer Lopez. Promotional deals can be made around any event, not only the typical Hollywood fare. Just a few years ago, Escada made Jennifer Lopez’s wedding gown in exchange for public relations opportunities, says Ashbrook, who arranged the deal. The wedding was photographed exclusively for In Style, garnering Escada international attention worth millions of advertising dollars.Thriving 30’s on Pinterest | 1930s, 30s Style and 30s Fashion Ltf