Secondly the labels themselves need to think about what they do, is the show or presentation worth it, these events are very expensive labels need to think about cost versus return. Is the event worth it, or is what London really needs a proper trade show sitting alongside the glitz and glam? Collaborative hosting may well support sales, the BFC isn't providing that with its show rooms right now. I'm a veteran of 14 women's and 8 men's seasons already and my personal feeling is I'm increasingly being invited to vanity projects of various forms. I will say that I firmly believe that we aren't at a tipping point yet, but each season that I've watched another couple added to the number. Yes full shows looks like success but if nobody does anything to help sales then it's just about looking good. The sum on this is really simple, if my show costs £5000, and my average profit on each sale is £100, I need to sell an ADDITIONAL 50 products on top of what I would anyway to just break even, will this do it for me.
A good PR will make sure that not only do they get great coverage but the right kind, they'll see it as a way to build revenue for their client. They'll know how to maximise the opportunity off the back of it, if I could pass on one piece of advice it would be get a good PR company. At men's week I saw some horrific treatment of clients, the one buyer I did meet asked me if I was the contact at a stand, the PR was barely there all the way through, a potential deal lost because they couldn't be bothered to have someone on the stand they'd got for their collective clients, they were almost never there all week.
This segways nicely into the third big question that most mythically dangerous beasts of all in business, awareness.
A good PR will know who to invite, who will be there in a capacity to either create sales or meaningful awareness. They'll talk a designer out of a presentation where you can't actually see the collection, I couldn't feature a designer recently because the event was so obtuse I couldn't see the models. Last year I was invited to another where they only had one piece on display from the whole collection, hidden away at the back past the DJ's, dance floor and free bar. They'll also sort the invite list to make sure the seats have the right people on them first and foremost. They'll get their buying contacts front and centre, they'll make sure that the media attending are right, that the pages the show will be seen on will be read by the people who will buy the clothes.
The influencers invited will have been scrutinised to make sure they actually have audiences that are real (fake followers is a whole article on it's own) and that those audiences will buy into the label. They'll be profiled to suit the show content rather than just there due to numbers, after all what's the use of a million followers if none will buy, size isn't everything, it's about the conversion to cash that an audience will bring, they could have 1000 followers that will look to buy and that will beat any number an influencer has that won't. I'm stopping short of naming those that I see doing selfies mid-show without even mentioning the show here.