21 March, 2026

From the vaults: The end of public relations

Bon Magazine - Gatekeepers and the End of Public Relations by Navaz Batliwalla

I loved reading Lucy Maguire’s recent Vogue Business story on the changing face of fashion PR. 13 years ago I wrote a similar feature for BON Magazine on the changing face of PR and fashion weeks in the (then) new social media landscape. What’s funny is how things have changed and how things have stayed the same.

At the time, ‘Oscar PR Girl’ (aka Oscar de la Renta publicist Erika Bearman) and ‘DKNY PR Girl’ (aka publicist Aliza Licht) were major influencers alongside Kelly Cutrone, a notoriously ball-breaking New York PR who had her own U.S reality TV show. I remember cold-emailing Kelly to ask if I could send over a few questions. I heard nothing until my phone suddenly rang one lunchtime and a voice at the other end bellowed, “Hi, this is Kelly Cutrone. You wanted to talk to me?” As I was in the middle of something else and didn’t have my notes in front of me, I innocently asked if I might call her back the next day. “NO, THAT’S THANKSGIVING!” (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 2 Comments Ad campaigns, Art, Bloggers, Brands, Business of fashion, Designers, Fashion shows, Magazines BON magazine, Business of Fashion, fashion shows, Kelly Cutrone, long read, New York Fashion Week, public relations, Vogue Business

13 March, 2026

Trend report: What to wear for SS26

The Row SS26

SS26 was the now infamous ‘reset’ season of mega designers taking up residence at new houses. The result is a broom-sweep of schloopy silhouettes in lieu of sharper cuts, bold injections of colour and a menu of fashion archetypes to choose from, rather than one or two overarching directions.

1/ PALETTE CLEANSER. One thing designers did agree on: this is a season for pure primaries in abundance. It’s a look that works really well on simple, architectural silhouettes which was especially clear at Jil Sander (below), Loewe and Celine as well as The Row (top). Just one piece can energise your everyday since primaries play so well against grey, beige and denim. The Loewe ‘Sports Walkman’ yellows (below) are pure summer holiday vibes and I love a red cardigan to offset khaki, white or grey. (more…)

Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Ad campaigns, Art, Beauty, Books, Brands, Business of fashion, Designers, Fashion shows, Menswear, News, Photography, Trends Acne Studios, ad campaigns, Alekos Fassianos, Andrew Durbin, art, Arthur Tress, books, Celine, Dario Vitale, Jil Sander, Jonathan Anderson, Loewe, Marta Oldrini, Paul Thek, Peter Hujar, photography, Ralph Lauren, Saint Laurent, shopping, SS26, Steven Meisel, The Row, trends

26 February, 2026

Random recs: Lucian Freud’s drawings, Peter York talks, smells like Studio Nicholson, Blank Street for Fashion Week and more

A few snippets of digital ephemera and IRL recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ LUCIAN FREUD’s ink brush drawings, scrawly illustrated love letters, etchings and early paintings are a major highlight of Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting (above and below) just opened at the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition is huge and the best bit is no wire barriers to trip over, letting you get super close to examine Freud’s meticulous hatching technique. P.S. the merch is fab (below); I’m going back for the mini daffodil tray. Bella Freud’s tees and totes are fun too.
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Disneyrollergirl 0 Comments Art, Beauty, Brands, Business of fashion, Designers, Events, Films, News, Photography, Technology, Trends Blank Street Coffee, industry, Perfumer H, Peter York, Pieter Mulier, Random Recs, Richard Young, Starbucks, Studio Nicholson, technology

4 February, 2026

On Timothée, the PCC and Darius Khondji

Timothée Chalamet in Raf Simons archive

A somewhat random post today. I was alerted last week to a special screening of Marty Supreme followed by a Q&A with Timothée Chalamet at the Prince Charles Cinema (aka the PCC, one of central London’s few remaining old-school indie cinemas). As I’d already seen the film I wasn’t tempted to go, but I thought wow, props to Timmy for carving out time to promote a tiny cinema who really needs the support.

Of course, I also thought, fuck me, you’re brave PCC! In order to buy a ticket, one had to be a PCC member and then try their luck booking online Glasto-style at an appointed time to secure a seat. What could possibly go wrong? Visions of hundreds of teens trying to bum rush the PCC website to the Willy Wonka-esque goods had me sending thoughts and prayers to the PCC’s IT and PR teams in advance. And yes, in the event, despite shoring up its servers, the inevitable happened. At the crucial moment, the site crashed, people were beyond devastated and the PCC’s IG comment section went into meltdown. (more…)