Besides following sports stories and public relations case studies, it is fun to look and see what happens in fashion.  Ever since my internship with Total Media in South Africa, I have a better insight into what goes on inside the industry and what it takes to work in fashion PR.  But like most industries, fashion does have its own PR Nightmares.

More recently, there has been some discussion about the latest Vogue Cover that features basketball player Lebron James and super model Giselle Bundchen.  Critics are saying that this cover is not representing James or Bundchen in a positive light, but in stereotype roles. Patrick O’Connell, spokesperson for Vogue, stated the following to the press:

“We think Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together and we are honored to have them on the cover.”

This could generate both positive and negative publicity for Vogue and the athletes and models involved.  Whenever something like this appears in the media, people are like– hmm, that is interesting– I have to check that out.  So the end result might being that Vogue sees an increase in their sales due to this “crisis.”  However, there are some audiences that might not appreciate how these individuals are presented in this particular issue, and may not want to read Vogue anymore.  What was interesting for me is the fact that they featured two track and field athletes in this issue– which is good PR for the sport.

In every situation, there is always a risk that you will make someone unhappy– but in the end, you have to weigh the positives and the negatives and make the most balanced decision.

Just a few thoughts on the subject.  Hope you all are having a great day! 🙂

Best Wishes,

Karen 🙂