In the days immediately before or after any major celebrity gathering - the Cannes Film Festival, the Oscar ceremony, the BAFTA Awards - every fashion editor receives reams of faxes from leading designers. These announcements publicise who is dressing who for the star-studded occasion. "Versace is delighted to announce that among the stars wearing its clothes on the night will be . . .", or "Giorgio Armani to dress celebrities at this year's Academy Awards". There is now even an Oscar Web site specifically to inform the fashion press about what frocks walked down the red carpet.
Oscar night is the world's biggest, but by no means only, photo opportunity; four hours of prime-time TV seen by a billion viewers plus thousands of pictures in the press on successive days. Beautiful women and equally gorgeous dresses - it is hardly surprising everyone wants to know what Kim Basinger, Sharon Stone and Kate Winslet were wearing - and designers are understandably not bashful about coming forward to take a credit. After the international collections, this is certainly the biggest event on the fashion calendar, followed by Cannes.
Showcases of glamour and celebrity, these and other such occasions have become increasingly important for public relations companies working in fashion. Tales of certain designers' largesse abound. After all, how better to sell a dress off the rails than to show a globally-famous person endorsing it? For every Armani dress worn at the Oscars, the Italian designer might expect to sell five more from his Los Angeles store alone - no matter what the price tag. Small wonder, therefore, that designers despatch whole teams to Hollywood with trunk-loads of clothes in the weeks leading up to the event. Their single purpose: to woo the stars.
The 1990s will be remembered as a decade of celebrity. But making the right connections between designer and star is crucial. This is where a PR's expertise will come to the fore. Fashion designers, their press officers and public relations consultants now make it their business to know who are the rising talents and who would best fit in with the image a house wishes to portray. The Armani public relations office, for example, has created a list of those it believes would look well in the designer's clothes. Typically, if a publication wishes to borrow a dress from Armani, the woman being photographed in the item has to be specified before agreement will be given. In London Jenni Halpern, fashion public relations consultant for a host of clients including Hermes, Escada, Laurel and Louise Kennedy, has a team to effect such PR marriages. The Halpern group might put actress Jennifer Ehle in Escada or English It girl and newspaper columnist Tara Palmer-Tompkinson in Laurel. Or it might assist a more discreet association between Louise Kennedy and Cherie Blair, who now wears the Irish designer's clothes. "Our task is very focused," says Halpern. "We felt it was time to do this professionally, especially as there is a trend at the moment for celebrity-watching." Often, she will court the right connections - but just as frequently the firm is approached by a celebrity who wishes to borrow something for a social occasion liable to receive lots of publicity. Television personality Samantha Norman, for example, borrowed a silver dress by Laurel for the last BAFTAs - and completely upstaged Elizabeth Hurley.
No money changes hands and dresses are loaned on the understanding that they will be returned; the borrower can always buy the item in question at a later sample sale. In Hollywood, however, an actress would expect to keep such clothes in return for naming the designer. Indeed, celebrities are sometimes invited to a fashion party expressly to model the designer's dresses; this happened in July at the opening of Krizia's new London store. Otherwise, explains Jenni Halpern, when clothes are lent in such a way "we rely on journalists recognising the dress and calling us to confirm". Celebrity endorsements can also be managed in a more subtle, but no less effective way, by means of "little presents". The hope is that these will be worn in public. Two years ago, New Yorker Judith Leiber gave one of her jewel-studded bags to Elizabeth Hurley; when the latter took it to Henry Dent-Brocklehurst's wedding last May, Leiber's office hastily sent fashion desks a photo captioned "Judith Leiber handbag, as worn by Liz Hurley". Leiber's PR on this side of the Atlantic, Caroline Kemp, chose Hurley "because she is a beautiful style icon and has a high profile". The entire exercise was a carefully-planned piece of publicity which yielded handsome results. Some PRs are not happy to discuss such calculated attempts at publicity. Aurelia Cecil, who represents Versace, Ferragamo and Thierry Mugler among others, says her clients prefer not to talk about this subject. "It's incredibly competitive and we don't want others to know what we are doing. We in the industry know this goes on, but the people in the street are not necessarily aware of it and clients would prefer to keep it that way."
Certain designers do not succumb to the celebrity-wooing game at all. Italian duo Dolce & Gabbana say they think giving clothes away to people just because they are famous is very 1980s. In fact, they have presented items to Madonna and Demi Moore, but other celebrities have to buy their clothes - and do. In Ireland, John Rocha has a host of rock music and thespian friends to whom he is happy to lend clothes but his PR, Anna Morel of Bryan Morel, says the company does not actively look for ways of associating the designer with a celebrity. "We only loan to those who already have a relationship with John." One such person is Michelle Collins, ex-Eastenders star, who makes frequent guest appearances on television shows. She has no dress budget and so relies on loans. "I try to borrow from designers, but it is difficult these days as you have to be very specific what you are taking something for and then make sure you wear it," she says.
The fusion of celebrity name and fashion product has now become a familiar public relations tool. "It's an aide memoire, an association, but it has to be a positive one," explains Ellie Green of London public relations company Yellow Door. Namedropping, she says, is a way of familiarising people with a brand but in a passive way. Casual name-dropping in Yellow Door's monthly update sent out to the press may just mention that Anthea Turner and Zoe Ball buy underwear from the Elle Active range, or that Mel Gibson, Nikki Taylor and Tyra Banks indulge in beauty treatments from Bath AndBody Works in New York - eagle-eyed staff feed back any celebrity sightings in their shops. Ellie Green justifies the use of this material as a form of passive promotion. "It seems a cheap ploy, but we are all voyeurs and like to look inside stars' handbags or wardrobes." The irony now is that these wardrobes are very often carefully constructed by a team of public relations advisers.
In spite of this, Caroline Kemp says people are still influenced by the knowledge of what celebrities have worn. "They feel the need for ideas and direction. I hate to admit it, but I am like that myself, especially if the celebrity is very glamorous."
