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Why a PR Pro Builds Fashion Brand Reputation Now

In June 2025, Prada showcased a pair of woven leather sandals on a Milan runway. In a matter of days, the narrative transcended the realm of fashion and evolved into a worldwide debate concerning cultural proprietorship, artisan remuneration, and the attribution of credit for craftsmanship.

The design was not the issue. The lack of a statement recognizing its origin was the issue.

That episode serves as the most evident recent illustration of why reputation in fashion has evolved into a specialized field rather than a mere consideration. A brand's reputation can be restructured within seventy-two hours by individuals who were never present, and the task of forecasting, influencing, and mending it is the essence of a public relations expert's role.


Why does a PR pro build fashion brands' reputations today?

A public relations expert cultivates the reputation of fashion brands today, as reputation has become quantifiable and exceptionally delicate.

It can be quantified via earned media value, as each fashion week produces hundreds of millions of dollars in documented media worth, while individual brands can achieve tens of millions in a single week.

It is delicate due to the shift of influence from a select group of editors to creators, communities, and fandoms, indicating that a cultural blunder can harm a brand in mere hours.

The position currently encompasses narrative development, media engagement, creator collaborations, event management, and crisis communication, while progressively influencing a brand's visibility in search results.

The position is necessary due to the fact that visibility devoid of credibility fails to yield conversions.

What the job actually covers

The position encompasses a wider scope than what the majority of students anticipate.

Fashion publicists oversee brand reputation and public perception, which entails composing and disseminating press materials, obtaining coverage in print and digital media, coordinating shows and launch events, managing collaborations with creators and influencers, addressing crisis communications, nurturing relationships with editors and journalists, tracking media coverage, and crafting campaigns that align with brand values and business goals (AMW, 2026).

Campaign initiatives are typically categorized into identifiable forms: media engagement, product introduction, creator and influencer partnerships, thought leadership that positions the founder or creative director as a cultural authority, and corporate social responsibility that links the brand to sustainability or community investment (Corrado Manenti, 2026).

At the core of it all lies the narrative. The most adept practitioners convert a designer's creations, background, and perspective into stories that editors can feasibly publish, necessitating the identification of the cultural aspect that renders a collection noteworthy and providing the context required for a journalist to produce meaningful content (Baden Bower, 2026).


What changed, and why the role grew

Three shifts explain the phrase in the question.

Reputation became quantified. Earned media value is now the standard currency. Paris Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2026, comprising 67 ready-to-wear shows and 31 presentations across nine days, was reported to have driven approximately USD 881 million in media value (Influencity, 2026).

At an earlier Milan Fashion Week, Prada led all brands with USD 47.9 million in earned media value from 1,781 social posts, with a single K-pop group generating USD 10.5 million of it (Sportskeeda, 2024). When reputation is quantified, it attracts a budget and a specialist.

Influence is decentralized. Vogue still matters, but so do creators, niche newsletters, and platform-specific communities and programs; those chasing only established print miss much of the conversation (Baden Bower, 2026). The most striking recent finding goes further: analysis by the agency Karla Otto with the platform Lefty concluded that in 2025 fandoms became the single most important driver of earned media value for brands, exceeding both classic influencer strategies and traditional celebrity placements (Lefty, 2026).

Creator relationships professionalized. The era of one-off sponsored posts is fading in favor of long-term partnerships, with compensation increasingly tied to conversions and partners selected for genuine alignment rather than follower count (Startr Co., 2026; Corrado Manenti, 2026).


Anatomy of a reputation event

The Prada case merits examination, as it elucidates the underlying mechanics. The sandals debuted at the Spring Summer 2026 menswear exhibition in Milan in June 2025 and were promptly recognized for their striking similarity to the Kolhapuri chappal, a traditional leather sandal crafted for centuries in Kolhapur, Maharashtra (Al Jazeera, 2025).

The original collection material failed to reference that origin. The economic factors intensified the response. Kolhapuri sandals are priced at approximately USD 10 in India, with craftsmen receiving about USD 3 to 5 for each pair, whereas the Prada variant is priced at around USD 995 (Retail Brew, 2026; The Luxury Closet, 2026).

Media scrutiny revealed a significant increase in coverage right after the show, markedly greater than that of other luxury brands during the same timeframe, with the discourse evolving from design evaluation to issues of cultural appropriation, economic equity, and supply chain morality, transitioning from niche fashion publications to widespread global discussion (Sensika, 2026).

The recuperation serves as the educational component. Prada recognized the roots in communication with the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, characterizing the design as influenced by traditional Indian artisanal footwear with a long-standing legacy.

A delegation journeyed to Kolhapur to engage with artisans and understand their methodology; they executed a memorandum of understanding with regional leather associations and announced a restricted collaboration that acknowledged the source (BBC, 2025; Gulf News, 2025).

Analysts remarked on this unusual occurrence of an international brand admitting its oversight in recognizing a craft it utilized and pointed out that the feasible solution from the beginning was simple: modify the product description, recognize the recreation, and partner with local artisans.

The takeaway for a communications expert is that this situation could have been averted with a single sentence, and the absence of that sentence incurred significantly greater costs.

Why this matters particularly from Jakarta

Indonesia sits on exactly the same fault line and on the more exposed side of it. The country's textile traditions, including batik and woven cloth, are precisely the kind of heritage craft that international houses draw on, and the pattern of borrowing without attribution is well documented across South and Southeast Asian traditions.

Commentary on the Prada episode noted that major brands have routinely drawn on regional traditions in the search for novelty without crediting the source (BBC, 2025). Two roles follow for Indonesian communications professionals.

The defensive one is protecting local craft: documenting provenance, supporting geographical indication protections, and holding brands to attribution. The constructive one is building Indonesian brands that credit and pay their artisans properly, which is both ethically sound and, on the evidence of the last two years, commercially safer. The market context supports investment in these initiatives.

Indonesia's creative economy employed 27.4 million people in 2025, roughly 18.7 percent of the national workforce, with more than half of its workers under 40 (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2025; Antara, 2025), and modest fashion exports reached USD 8.4 billion in 2024 with stated ambitions of global category leadership (Invest Indonesia, 2025).

Brands pursuing international markets need people who can manage reputation across cultures rather than only within one.

Crisis is now part of the job description

The field has integrated crisis management as a standard practice instead of viewing it as an anomaly. Cultural blunders in campaigns or collaborations can tarnish a brand's reputation in mere hours, prompting fashion teams to engage in crisis management as much as they do in proactive campaign efforts (Baden Bower, 2026).

The persistent themes are identifiable: cultural awareness, designer behavior, labor and supply chain issues, and conflicts regarding sustainability assertions (Everything PR, 2026). Proactive preparation, rather than reactive measures, is what distinguishes proficient practice.

This entails examining collections for attribution concerns prior to their presentation on a runway, understanding which assertions can be validated, and establishing connections beforehand.


The newer frontier

One further shift is worth noting, particularly for anyone entering the field now. Consumers increasingly research brands through synthesized answers rather than by browsing publications directly, asking what to wear, which brands are best for a purpose, or whether a brand is worth buying. Brands lacking sustained editorial coverage and structured content risk being absent at the moment of research (Everything PR, 2026).

Practitioners describe a movement from earned media alone toward engineered visibility across channels, with narrative repetition building recognition among both human and machine audiences (O'Dwyer's, 2026).

Communications professionals reported the changing media landscape as their top challenge in industry surveys for 2026 (O'Dwyer's, 2026). It is a field in genuine flux, which is usually where the opportunity for new entrants is largest.


What it pays and how people enter

Published ranges place entry-level fashion public relations assistants at roughly USD 35,000 to 45,000, mid-level managers at USD 50,000 to 80,000, and senior directors at luxury brands or leading agencies at USD 100,000 to 200,000 or more (AMW, 2026).

Agency retainers give a sense of the value attached: boutique programs commonly run USD 5,000 to 15,000 per month, and established mid-size programs USD 15,000 to 50,000 (Baden Bower, 2026).

Entry typically requires a degree in communications, marketing, public relations, or a fashion-related study, combined with internships, strong writing, social media capability, and a network built before graduation (AMW, 2026).

Patience is also part of the job. Earned media relationships generally take 60 to 120 days to begin producing coverage, and brand recognition compounds over 12 to 24 months, with programs cut at month three consistently underperforming (Baden Bower, 2026).


What an education contributes

Four elements correspond directly to the specifications. The ability to write and craft narratives is essential, as the fundamental task involves converting a designer's vision into a publishable format.

Cultural and commercial discernment, cultivated through the study of fashion marketing and management in conjunction with fashion design and business administration, enables a communicator to comprehend both the apparel and the profit margin.

Visual literacy is essential, as campaigns are primarily visual representations prior to being textual, a concept cultivated by visual communication design and digital media design.

A network is established through industrial internships and industry initiatives conducted by the Center of Professional Development prior to graduation, rather than subsequently.

Instruction by practicing professionals is more significant in this field than in many others, as the media landscape depicted in textbooks is typically outdated by two years.

The position exists because individuals who cannot govern a brand perpetually evaluate it openly. One must comprehend the dialog sufficiently to engage in it sincerely.

This exceptionally valuable skill to acquire comes from a campus located on Jalan M.H. Thamrin, within a nation whose indigenous crafts are frequently appropriated and largely ignored.


Frequently Asked Questions

What does a fashion PR professional do? A fashion publicist manages a brand's reputation and public image. The work includes writing and distributing press material, securing media coverage, organizing shows and launch events, managing creator and influencer partnerships, handling crisis communications, maintaining editor relationships, monitoring coverage, and developing campaigns aligned to brand values and commercial goals.

How is fashion reputation measured? Fashion reputation is primarily measured through earned media value, which quantifies the impact of coverage across online, social, and print channels. Paris Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2026 was reported to have driven around USD 881 million in media value, while at one Milan Fashion Week, a single brand recorded USD 47.9 million in earned media value from 1,781 social posts.

What changed in fashion PR recently? Influence decentralized away from a small group of editors toward creators, niche publications, and communities. Analysis of 2025 found that fandoms became the single largest driver of earned media value for brands, exceeding both traditional influencer strategies and celebrity placements. Creator relationships also shifted from one-off posts toward long-term partnerships selected for alignment rather than reach.

What was the Prada Kolhapuri controversy? In June 2025, Prada showed braided leather sandals at Milan Fashion Week that closely resembled the Kolhapuri chappal, a centuries-old handcrafted design from Maharashtra, without initially crediting its origin. The backlash spread from fashion media into a global debate about cultural appropriation and artisan compensation. Prada later acknowledged the origins, met artisans in Kolhapur, signed an agreement with local leather associations, and announced a collaboration crediting the source.

Why does cultural attribution matter for Indonesian fashion? Because Indonesian textile traditions such as batik and woven cloth are the same kind of heritage craft that international brands regularly draw on, often without credit. Communications professionals have both a defensive role in protecting local craft through documentation and attribution and a constructive role in building Indonesian brands that credit and compensate their artisans properly.

How much do fashion PR professionals earn? Published ranges place entry-level assistants at roughly USD 35,000 to 45,000, mid-level managers at USD 50,000 to 80,000, and senior directors at luxury brands or leading agencies at USD 100,000 to 200,000 or more.

Figures vary considerably by market and should be treated as indicative.

Marketing Manager



References

Al Jazeera. (2025). Did Prada steal Indian sandal designs without giving credit? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/1/why-is-prada-caught-in-a-sandal-scandal-in-india

AMW. (2026). Fashion PR essentials: All you need to know in 2026. https://amworldgroup.com/blog/fashion-pr-essentials-all-you-need-to-know

Antara. (2025). Indonesia's creative economy beats jobs target in 2025. https://en.antaranews.com/news/396817/indonesias-creative-economy-beats-jobs-target-in-2025

Baden Bower. (2026). Fashion PR strategies: Get media coverage and elevate your brand. https://www.badenbower.com/fashion-pr-mastery/

Badan Pusat Statistik. (2025). BPS: Creative economy employs 27.4 million workers in 2025. https://www.bps.go.id/en/news/2025/11/17/805/bps--creative-economy-employs-27-4-million-workers-in-2025.html

BBC. (2025). Why Prada and other luxury brands keep getting India wrong. https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/articles/cgmwnlnrd1eo

Corrado Manenti. (2026). Global fashion PR campaign types: The 2026 guide. https://www.corradomanenti.it/en/global-fashion-pr-campaign-types-the-2026-guide/

Everything PR. (2026). Fashion PR: The discipline, press pool, and 2026 operating environment. https://everything-pr.com/fashion-pr

Gulf News. (2025). The fashion moments that made 2025 unforgettable. https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/fashion/the-fashion-moments-that-made-2025-unforgettable-1.500392244

Influencity. (2026). Paris Fashion Week 2026: How Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuitton turned influencer marketing into earned media value. https://influencity.com/blog/en/paris-fashion-week-2026-how-dior-chanel-and-louis-vuitton-turned-influencer-marketing-into-earned-media-value

Invest Indonesia. (2025). Indonesia modest fashion industry sees 3.9% export rise. https://investindonesia.co.id/2025/12/11/indonesia-modest-fashion-industry-sees-3-9-export-rise/

Lefty. (2026). The impact of parasocial relationships on fashion in 2025. https://www.cbinsights.com/company/lefty

O'Dwyer's. (2026). 2026: Not just another evolution year in public relations. https://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/24759/2026-05-22/2026-not-just-another-evolution-year-public-relations.html

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Raffles Jakarta. (n.d.c). Programs offered. https://www.raffles-indonesia.com/programmes

Raffles Jakarta. (n.d.d). Raffles career development. https://www.raffles-indonesia.com/raffles-career-development

Raffles Jakarta. (n.d.e). International academic team. https://www.raffles-indonesia.com/international-creative-practitioners

Retail Brew. (2026). Prada's Kolhapuri controversy highlights fashion's trust gap. https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/pradas-kolhapuri-controversy-highlights-fashions-trust-gap

Sensika. (2026). Prada Kolhapuri controversy and media sentiment analysis. https://sensika.com/guides-and-reports/prada-kolhapuri-controversy-media-analysis/

Sportskeeda. (2024). ENHYPEN ranks first in top influencers of MFW SS25 womenswear, generating 10.5 million EMV for Prada. https://sportskeeda.com/us/k-pop/news-that-s-king-behavior-fans-rejoice-enhypen-ranks-1-top-influencers-mfw-ss25-womenswear-generating-10-5-million-emv-prada

The Luxury Closet. (2026). Prada's new sandals: The cultural appropriation scandal. https://theluxurycloset.com/blog/2025/07/09/pradas-new-sandals-a-step-too-far-in-cultural-appropriation/

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