I got a cold call a few days ago:

Me: "Hi, This is Ms Fitz"
Chick: (pause...) "What..? Sorry? Who's this?"
Me: "Its Ms Fitz- you called me."
Chick: "I'm sorry, Who?"
Me: "Ms Fitz" (saying my name over the phone is ordinarily a nightmare, people never believe that I actually just said MS. FITZ, but I'm not in the mood to spell it to her, cause she's the one blowing up my cell)
Chick: (pause)
Me: "YOU called ME" (I'm pretty confused at this stage, I had no idea who it was)
Chick: "Ohhh... okay.." (it was so not okay, she still had NO idea who she was calling)
Chick: (quite obviously reading of a sheet in front of her)
"... well, hi (mumble), I was just calling from (unnamed prominent PR firm) to let you know about our new range of sunglasses from (insert label here)..."
Me : Ohhhh, okay.

I let her finish reading her sheet, the poor thing was obviously some intern on work experience, totally nervous and knew that she'd fucked up. Then I politely told her that I would not be attending the showing. Oops. Way to make a good impression.

Anyways, after this phone call I got to thinking about the all experiences I've had working with Fashion PR Agencies. What is good Fashion PR?

Its is the job of Fashion Pr Agent to bring the right kind of exposure to their client. Often they put together campaigns, organise sponsorship and lots of other hard and interesting things.
They build strong relationships with editors and stylists- they know their market and give personalised service to people in the industry who can assist their client/label in reaching their demographic or building their image. They also need to have the organizational skills to get the product to the project in time. Its a difficult job, and they have a lot of people to please.

And, as I'm sure you know, it is the job of a stylist to get the coolest, pre season clothing to use for editorial, film clips, artists and shows. And the way you get your hands on those clothes are through these Fashion PR agencies who hold the season's samples to lend out for appropriate exposure.

It can be a complex relationship, which can also be beneficial to all parties, when the right 'synergy' is found between brands.

So, stylists deal with PR peeps a lot. I have had experiences with many, but by no means all Fashion Pr reps in Sydney, and some have been more positive than others. Man, I have some stories about Pr girls and their attitudes. I'm not going to sugar coat it- It can be an ego minefield. Power games disguised as PR. I was going to go on an extended rant and give examples of all the bad experiences I've had with PR peeps, but then I thought- "Better not, they ARE pr Agents! They'd probably destroy me" hah! So I'll keep it positive :)

There are plenty of hugely talented, amazing young Pr girls and boys who are doing an standout job promoting their labels in Sydney.

I thought I'd put together a list of my five best Fashion PR companies I've had the pleasure to work with in my time here in Sydney. They've been helpful, friendly and above all, professional. They appreciate a good opportunity for their brand when it arises, and are open to new talent- which is invaluable in terms of longevity and evolution of a brand.

These Agencies have been incredibly reliable and helpful- if I were their clients, I'd be very happy with their representation.

1. Under The Wing PR
Tina Kalivas, Lonely Hearts Club, Deadly Ponies, Maise
These chicks are the coolest bizatches in Sydney. They're so young; its a new agency full of energy, laughter and drive.
They have a beautiful showroom on Bourke St in Surry Hills, and will definitely be the best in the biz in a few years :)
Contact: nicole@underthewingpr.com.au, sussan@underthewingpr.com.au

2. Sweaty Betty PR
Holy shit I cant even remember them all! They have so many!
Stussy, Saachi, Converse, Diva, Mossimo, Everlast and more.
Roxy is like the superwoman of Sydney PR. When ever I go into their enormous show room I'm impressed by how she has like, 10 or more hard working, pretty young things who perform to her bidding! She runs a tight ship! Props!!
Contact: roxy@sweatybettypr.com

3. Go Lightly PR
Adidas Originals, Dion Lee, Camilla and Marc, Manning Cartel, Marnie Skillings, Chronicles of Never. ie: The higher end of the Australian designers.
This agency is run by Holly Garber- she's cool, well bred, and thoroughly intimidating to begin with. But don't let that fool you! These girls are awesome. They are really good at what they do and totally on top of it :)
Contact: showroom@golightlypr.com

4. House of Romeo
Injury, Fortunes Fool, Vein, Springcourt, Gram, Fashion Assassin, Celebrity Uniform, Wish
Some kinda unknown labels in there, but these guys are wonderful. Up and coming, so happy to work with other up and comers too. They're also really nice and funny :)
Contact: james@schoolofromeo.com

5. Little Hero Pr
Romance Was Born, Cheap Mondays, PAM, Antipodium, Frederich Grey, TV
All the edgy Australian labels are at Little Hero.
Rae's a really hardworking woman with a bevvy of impressive clients under her belt.
Contact: rae@littlehero.com.au

A special shout out must go to the Best Freelance Pr Agents I know:
Candice Wyman for St Augustine Academy
Contact: candy@saintaugustineacademy.com.au
Josh Flinn for An Ode To No-One
Contact: joshflinn@gmail.com

Oh yeah and there's a woman called Penny who WAS at Akira but now at Prada and I think she might just be the nicest woman in the world.
Oh and you know who else is good? Antonia Leigh! She did the exhibition for Wesfield/ LMFF and shes a TOTAL GUN. And actually- Aimee Bayliss at Ksubi is pretty great tooo.

Shit! I have to keep adding them as I think about it!! ha!

Having said all this- I am but a small fish.. My opinion may not count for much, but these guys are really wonderful and I couldn't give them all more props for their outstanding work :)

Kisses!!

Ms Fitz
xxx