Wildcard Position Paper — From Runways to Reputation

 

Fashion + Transparency

For decades, the global fashion industry has operated within a carefully crafted PR bubble. Brands controlled every aspect of their public identity, from runway photography to magazine articles. In doing so, luxury fashion houses have maintained the image of untouchable luxury that many consumers can only admire from afar. Social media, shifting cultural values, and highly publicized scandals have ruptured that bubble, thus reshaping what the public expects from these brands.

Today, consumers are still able to admire the art of fashion, but admiration does not override the house's values, or lack thereof. Consumers now want both craftsmanship and transparency around their practices.

As mainstream and social media take center stage, millennials and Gen Z are quickly evolving the rules of trust. A brand's public relations strategy is no longer just about the brand, but about the people behind it.

The Fall of Corporate PR

Corporate PR teams have always acted as the gatekeepers of a brand's public image; they are responsible for issuing polished statements, managing press access, and shaping the narrative consumers see. But today's consumers are less worried about a brand's response to a PR crisis; they are now concerned about the people behind the decisions. Corporate statements are now viewed as damage control rather than accountability from the people behind the brand.

Over the years, consumers have become less trusting of statements issued by in-house corporate teams, with whom they never see until a crisis occurs, but expect statements from the individual or individuals who are responsible. 

This shift in expectations requires individuals to speak authentically and demonstrate actual understanding of the controversy at hand.

Case Studies

In recent history, we have seen how fashion's most famed brands can be "cancelled" because corporate strategy just no longer works.

In 2022, a Balenciaga, which is known for inovative designs and luxury appeal, campaign, featured imagery of children with teddy bears dressed in BDSM inspired attire, and later in the spring of 2023, a partnership with Adidas, an ad campaign featured an Adidas bag placed on top of a pile of papers and legal documents, which was later found to be a Supreme Court document related to the 2003 law that stated that "child pornography is not protected by free speech".

These ad campaigns were seen by the public as sexualizing children, thus causing Balenciaga to cease production as they strive to rework their image.

While the brand acknowledged its errors, its trust took a significant hit. Creative director, Demna, was set to receive the Global Award from The Business of Fashion. Still, the award was rescinded due to the images, which were deemed "wholly inconsistent with our values".

Another fashion house under fire is Dolce & Gabbana. The brand is no stranger to controversy with racial undertones. In 2012, the brand featured white models walking the runway wearing earrings that appeared to resemble those worn in the Blackamoor statues that are often seen as racially and culturally insensitive. The series of controversies continued over the years, including an advertisement of a Chinese woman struggling to eat a variety of Italian foods with chopsticks, and the co-founder, whose private social media DMs, in which he was seen making negative statements about China, were leaked, causing the brand's fashion show in Shanghai to be cancelled and retailers dropping the brand. 

Personal Branding on the Rise

Fashion has entered an era where founders, creative directors, and influencers carry as much representational weight as the brand itself, making transparency non-negotiable.

Over the years, creative directors and influencers have become cultural figures, even more so than the brands they represent, and their personal brands shape perceptions of those brands. With the rise of social media, millions of followers seek out these individuals for deeper insight into a brand and its inner workings. This has forced these individuals to establish a clear personal brand and to take ownership of their actions. PR representatives are needed for these individuals, as corporate PR teams are ultimately in place solely to protect the brand.

Private PR consultants are essential to support individuals in a multitude of ways:

• Media training
• High-risk interviews
• Social media voice development
• Crisis prevention and mitigation
• Apology crafting
• Reputation monitoring
• Personal storytelling and brand-building

PR consulting has grown significantly in the age of influencers, where a single misinterpreted post can ruin not only the individual's career but also their global image.

Fashion intensifies this element of risk. Influencers collaborating with brands bring visibility and vulnerability as they cannot dictate an influencer's image outside of the collaboration. We have seen brands lose credibility due to an influencer's image more than once. A great example of this is Kanye West and his ongoing backlash due to antisemitic remarks. Brands such as Adidas and Balenciaga have invested time, effort, and money in their partnerships with West, only for his reputation to tank and for them to have to revoke those partnerships.

The Future of Fashion PR

Fashion is experiencing a major shift in its practices from one where the art is admired to one where the brand's accountability and transparency are at the forefront, before the artistry. Consumers in today's age no longer offer brand loyalty to just any brand; they expect the brands and the people behind the brand to earn that loyalty.

This shift has created an environment where private PR consultants are no longer a luxury but a necessity. As designers, founders, and influencers become central to brand storytelling, their personal reputations function as strategic assets with direct corporate consequences.

The fantasy era of fashion may be gone, but fashion's creative power remains. What has changed is the requirement that artistry must coexist with integrity. The future of PR is hybrid—part corporate, part personal, and undeniably human.