Features

AAPRC Weekly: Kevin Fegans

Kevin Fegans
Public Relations Manager
Sixty USA
NYC


When Kevin Fegans went off to college he wanted to major in musical theatre. He had a love for fashion too––his high school classmates dubbed him "best dressed." Plus, he'd just won a coveted spot as a youth panelist host, working with Ananda Lewis on BET's "Teen Summit," and thought perhaps there might be a career as an on-air personality in his future. He was, in a sense, a typical college freshman. Fegans' parents refused to pay for him to major in musical theatre, so he decided he'd go to law school and majored in political science with a minor in public relations.

Though the future fashion PR whiz kid participated in fashion shows while at Howard University, his internship experience spoke to those future law school plans––stints for the Office of the General Counsel and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Fegans also worked retail part-time, for the Georgetown location of the British clothing store, The French Connection. In the end, after he finished at Howard, it was The French Connection that turned him away from law school and set him firmly on the fashion path.

In 1999, French Connection tapped Fegans for a job at their corporate headquarters in New York City. The 21-year-old went to work as an assistant to the company's vicepresident of finance. Fegans realized just a few short months into the gig, though, that it wasn't where he wanted to be. He was handling numbers, not fashion. He put his resume into circulation and landed a freelance position with the high-end fashion house Louis Vuitton.

There, Fegans worked as an advertising and public relations assistant, getting a heavy dose of the fashion neophyte experience. "I did everything from phone calls to following up on requests and events and coordinating with the advertising agency, to getting salads and going to Barney's to get my boss bronzer," Fegans recalls. "It was the full fashion assistant thing. I can remember washing lettuce."

The position at Louis Vuitton ended after just a few months, but from there Fegans went on to get another very big name in fashion on his resume––Vera Wang. The designer was working on her book Vera Wang on Weddings (HarperResource, 2001) and needed a project assistant. "Vera prefers to write by hand," says Fegans. "I took everything and put it into the computer and gave her choices and options as far as the writing before it went to the publisher. That was fun because I got to work with her sideby-side. It was a pretty amazing experience. I would sit with her during design meetings and phone calls and all kinds of things…Whenever she took a moment to work on the book I kind of had to be there ready to go."

After Vera Wang, the design house Ellen Tracy brought in Fegans to work on their fashion show for Seventh on Sixth, the American fashion week. This time, the freelance position became permanent and Fegans was hired on as public relations coordinator at the venerable label. He was 22 years old. "It's where I built my reputation and relationships in the industry and really decided that that's what I want to do," says Fegans of his years at Ellen Tracy. "I had a boss who was really great to work for, who let us float our own ships but still work on the same team…Because our department was so small––compared to Louis Vuitton who had like 10 people in their PR department –– we only had two for a company that's so big. I really got the exposure and experience that I needed to move on."

Before he moved on Fegans tried his hand at everything from strategically placing clothes on the right people, facilitating requests from magazines like Vogue, Bazaar, and InStyle and booking models for photo shoots to working wi th celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, who had an account with the company. Fegans gained tremendous experience, and overcame his coworkers reaction to his youth––everyone seemed surprised that he could write a press release. "The women that I worked with were probably in their late 40s, early 50s," he says. "I had to prove myself to them…"

Though Fegans describes the atmosphere at the 50-year-old company as a "country club environment"––he was one of only a handful of African-Americans on staff––it was also pretty cushy. Then privately owned, the company served breakfast every morning and staff traveled on private jets. Then, in 2003 Ellen Tracy was acquired by another label, Liz Claiborne, and the new bosses began making changes. Fegans decided it was a good time to move on.

"I kind of wanted something that was a little more me. Ellen Tracy is a more conservative brand, definitely an older customer," says Fegans of his move to Sixty USA. "Sixty is a very young, hip brand. Britney Spears wears us, Jessica Simpson, Mischa Barton––tons of young Hollywood really supports it."

In early 2004, at age 26, Fegans was hired as public relations manager for Sixty USA, the U.S. division of the Italian label that includes the brands Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah and Sixty. The wunderkind oversees all publicity and special events for the young company––it was founded in 1996––and finds himself among peers. The oldest person on board is the president, aged 35. More importantly, though, Fegans feels as though he's helping to build the brand. "I thought it would be nice to be where I could make my own mark, do something for the company," he says. "Ellen Tracy was already set when I got there so there was nothing to do except ride along. Here I can suggest ideas and think strategically how I want to do things and see them play out." One of his ideas, dressing stars for the red carpet at the 2004 MTV "Video Music Awards," took Fegans and his new staff down to Miami, where he hoped to get the company's clothes photographed on beautiful bodies. In the meantime he continues to do what he's always done, build relationships in hopes of building his new brand.

"I always say to have contacts is one thing–-I could give somebody my Rolodex and they couldn't do anything with it because it's the relationship that matters," says Fegans about what he sees as a key element in his success. "It's about knowing my editor at Vogue…her husband's birthday. I know what their dog's name is. Just random things. Not just doing it strategically, but actually being concerned about them. That's what I did at Ellen Tracy–-really make those relationships and not just be a contact person."

As for advice to other hopeful young fashionistas, particularly African-Americans? Fegans says there aren't large numbers of African-Americans in fashion PR, but he feels there is a significant presence. He does think the challenges of getting started in the business, though, could be a deterrent. "I remember when I first got here I was interviewing at W and they told me the position paid $19 thousand," says Fegans. "I was like 'whoa, $19 thousand, what am I going to do? How am I going to buy luxury clothes to go along with the gig let alone live in New York City…' There's no financial rules, but it helps to have someone supporting you initially...It's a glamorous industry that everyone wants to work in. At W, I remember the guy saying he gets 750 resumes a week."

Another reality, Fegans points out, is that so much about fashion is about "the look," and this holds true for the people behind the scenes as much as for the models in front of the cameras. "If you go to Ralph Lauren, the girls there look like the brand," says Fegans. "When you go to Galliano, those girls are a little more cool and hip…That's the way it works. There's also your contacts and how good of a publicist you are, but ultimately it's an aesthetic industry. There's a definite thing about looks. I know in Europe when you apply for PR jobs you submit pictures, but in the U.S. you can't do that."

In spite of the challenges, Fegans is a committed fashionista. His days and nights are filled with his work. After hours activities include industry parties and private dinners to introduce himself and Sixty USA to publicists and stylists. He travels extensively. Ask what he does when he can finally turn his cell phone off and he sheepishly answers that he doesn't turn his cell phone off. He does manage to find time for friends, though, and is making time this Fall to brush up on his tennis, a sport he played growing up in Petersburg, Virginia. There are no immediate plans for a return to his other childhood sport, figure skating, but with Kevin Fegans you never know what the future holds.


AAPRC's Mission
The African-American Public Relations Collective (AAPRC) is an assemblage of professionals who provide communication conduits among clients, journalists, media and our communities. We come together as a collective because we recognize the importance of building those same conduits amongst ourselves.

A great deal of what we do is professional development––updating our skills, keeping pace with technology, refining and streamlining processes, providing a forum to tackle the issues that impact our work environment––but we believe our professional lives benefit most from the forging of effective alliances. Connected to one another, we possess the power of a nationwide body of committed, knowledgeable practitioners with an eye on the future.

As we move into the 21st century at lightning speed, mass media and its potent messages occupy an ever-larger part of our daily lives and our collective psyche. The AAPRC is focused on helping our members gain a deeper understanding of media's force and supporting their growth as powerful participants in the global communications network.

AAPRC's Contact
GQ Media & Public Relations
1650 Broadway Suite 1011
New York NY 10019
1212 765 7910
1212 765 7905
aapublicistcoll@aol.com

Message Kevin Fegans and the AAPRC and tell them what you think

Gwendolyn Quinn

« The Herbert Hollar  Echoing The Birds & The Bees (West Coast) #9 »

The 2-Way

Replies: 3

Archives: