Setting up a front row at Fashion Week is the clothes-horse equivalent of casting actors in a TV show.
Not a lot of room for error.
Just as networks want someone with star power to attract viewers, designers have been looking for just the right TV stars to pimp their brands this week.
“The whole objective of having celebrities at a [fashion] show is to increase your press and show that celebrities want to wear your brand,” says Kelly Cutrone, founder of fashion marketing and branding firm People’s Revolution and star of Bravo’s new “Kell on Earth.”
First rule: “You’re going to want somebody who is going to resonate with the weeklies,” she says, meaning People, US, etc.
That explains why famous faces from press-friendly shows like “Gossip Girl,” “30 Rock” and “American Idol” make perfect front row fodder.
For the most part, the celebrities who turn up at the fashion shows are either fans of the clothes or pals with the designers.
“There are designers who, from early on in their careers, understand the importance of celebrity and cultivate those relationships,” Cutrone says.
But, it’s not just a one way street.
“Stars, too, understand that, when they’re affiliated with the right kind of designer, they’re going to pick up the energy and association of the [designer’s] brand and have it come on to their brand. And that’s obviously why they’re called stars,” Cutrone says. “They like to shine.”
Not all celebs are at shows because they’re BFFs with the designers, however.
Some are in it for the money.
Some stars “might go to one show for free — because they want to be there — and might go to another show for $50,000,” Cutrone says.
In cases where cash is exchanged for presence, it’s usually part of the agreement that the stars can’t attend any other shows until after the one that they’ve been paid for. Otherwise, “you’ll blow the photo op. [Designers] want it to be as exclusive as possible,” Cutrone says.