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Working with Celebrities

The relationship between celebrities and fashion has been a symbiotic and longstanding one. Thousands of years ago, kings and queens were the celebrities of their day, and their sense of fashion, hairstyles, shoes, and everything else set the tone for their world in their time. More recently, the very idea of celebrity has changed drastically with the advent of reality TV, the blog world, YouTube, and so many other media-creating modern-day forms of communication.

One of the most powerful platforms for celebrities and fashion and a place where the two worlds cling to each other is the world of the red carpet. The way celebrities package and present themselves on the red carpet can define their place in history, pop culture, and fashion; at times, they can even create trends that boom globally overnight. This is true of any red carpet: the Academy Awards (the jewel in the crown), Screen Actors’ Guild, Golden Globes, Tonys, and Emmys; the Grammys and other music awards shows; Blockbuster, MTV, People’s Choice, movie premieres, our own events, and any other program that is widely seen and talked about.

Especially in today’s fast-paced, real-time, info-overloaded society, every step a celebrity makes is tracked, photographed, followed, liked, and of course imitated. Through social media, people have immediate access to see who wore what and can just as immediately comment or pass along other people’s opinions. That makes the impact of a certain look, dress, shoe, or hairstyle instant and explosive. But as quickly as a photo appears, it disappears—on to the next thing! That creates a specific challenge for brands—especially fashion brands—to stay relevant in pop-culture discussions. Everyone has to do something different, be the right “it” girl of the moment, and create moments with celebrities that stand out. And then do it over and over again.

Celebrities are one of the best vehicles for out-of-home advertising. They are living, breathing, widely seen, and respected billboards that will be photographed, talked about, and analyzed in terms of the brand, the dress, and the look that they are wearing. The connection and impact of a celebrity are undeniable. When a celebrity wears something new, that can be the moment that launches the entire career of a designer. There is no secret to the massive amounts of free clothing celebrities receive in the hope that they will be photographed wearing the item or even showing it off somehow within their social media universe.

Advertising campaigns use celebrities and not just models for a very specific reason: to align with the “aura” of a specific man or woman. Celebrities don’t always have to be A-list Hollywood actors or actresses; they can also be athletes or politicians. Sometimes the most unexpected relationships that are created on the glossy pages of a fashion magazine between a fashion brand and a celebrity are the ones that have had the most impact. The power of celebrity and the right partnerships and alignments can be extremely powerful, whether it is fashion or any other category.

As a fashion brand and company, you have to consider who you are partnering with and analyze that relationship from various angles: their other partnerships, them as a brand and what they are known for, their look and style, their personal life, and the way scandals can affect your direct relationship with them. We have seen many occasions in which a brand has been forced to drop a celebrity partnership because of the scandals in that person’s personal life, and sometimes the scandal can elevate the brand as a result of the risk and danger associated with the celebrity. It’s an interesting relationship and one that is most certainly mutually beneficial.

Because movies, music, and fashion are a very powerful triumvirate, if we can persuade a celebrity or famous person to wear one of our designs, that can have a tremendous impact not only on publicity but on sales. Men are important but nowhere near as important in terms of their impact as celebrity women when they wear designer fashions.

Those images are high-profile: they’re like the shot heard around the world, because the instant a celebrity on the red carpet says she’s wearing your dress or if the press reports that she is wearing your dress, that information goes online all over the world, and millions of impressions are made—on TV, in newspapers, in magazines, and on all forms of social media. Consumers see your brand on high-profile beautiful people. Celebrities enhance your brand, and they can bring excitement, energy, goodwill, and endorsement of your design ethic. The next day, newspapers across the country and around the world show these women wearing your dresses. After that come the weekly magazines and then the monthlies, and that publicity can continue for a long, long time even though the original image may be long gone.

I would go so far as to say that one dress can change the direction of a company because it brings such incredible exposure over a relatively short period. Everything is so instantaneous today and there’s such an amazing interest in fashion that a dress can be seen around the world overnight: people in China will walk into a store the day after an awards ceremony, knowing you dressed Rita Ora or Taylor Swift the night before. As a result, the value of that publicity and that celebrity endorsing your product by wearing it is incalculable. Because of that, there is a tremendous amount of competition and effort to dress celebrities.

Here are just a few of the famous women who have worn Donna Karan fashions during my tenure: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Beckinsale, Beyoncé, Emilia Clarke, Penélope Cruz, Cara Delevingne, Nina Dobrev, Megan Fox, Gina Gershon, Greta Gerwig, Ashley Greene, Anna Gunn, Naomie Harris, Iman, Kim Kardashian, Anna Kendrick, Karlie Kloss, Heidi Klum, Diane Kruger, Ali Larter, Jennifer Lopez, Camila Alves McConaughey, Rose McGowan, Debra Messing, Elisabeth Moss, Rita Ora, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Rhoda, Rihanna, Emmy Rossum, Susan Sarandon, Hailee Steinfeld, Barbra Streisand, Taylor Swift, Sofía Vergara, Kerry Washington, Allison Williams. That’s an impressive list.

The power of Hollywood, TV, and the music world is extraordinary: in fact, I believe someone from the music industry can have even more of an impact than someone from Hollywood, because people listen to music every day. That’s just my opinion, however; either way, celebrity dressing is an important part of marketing our fashions. Personally, I was most excited when Taylor Swift wore us to the 2013 Golden Globes, and she looked beautiful.