Lynne Franks PR
Following a brief stint as a PR assistant, and at the encouragement of the fashion designer Katharine Hamnett, Franks started her own PR agency at the age of 21, with her first clients including Hamnett's own fashion business, Tuttabankem, and Wendy Dagworthy. Working initially from her own kitchen table, Franks's success soon had the new agency moving into increasing larger premises in the Covent Garden area of London.
In the summer of 1974, she supported her husband in setting up Howie, a menswear store on Fulham Road. Although the store was initially successful, its location, right next to the football ground of Chelsea F.C. made it difficult to attract the more fashion-conscious shoppers on most Saturday afternoons. In 1976, the business, now renamed Mrs Howie, was moved to the Covent Garden area of London, becoming one of the first fashion stores and designer studios in that area. With the shop featuring designs from many of London's new and established fashion designers, and with Franks herself in the perfect position to secure plenty of favourable media and press coverage, the boutique was a successful part of London's booming fashion industry.
In 1979, Franks's PR agency was commissioned by the Murjani Corporation to launch Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, one of the first designer jeans to be launched in the UK. Franks used this relationship in 1984 to help persuade Murjani to sponsor a large fashion tent outside the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, as a venue for British fashion designers to display their talents. This helped to turn the then fledgling London Fashion Week into the centralised and prestigious event it remains to this day.
Over the next few years, Lynne Franks PR established itself as one of the leading fashion PR firms in the UK, working with many high street brands including Harvey Nichols, Tommy Hilfiger, Brylcreem, Raleigh Bicycles and Swatch. Her agency also represented many of the biggest names in the fashion industry including Katharine Hamnett, Jasper Conran, and Jean-Paul Gaultier; figures from the world of entertainment such as Annie Lennox, Lenny Henry and Ruby Wax, and even worked briefly with the Labour Party in 1986, helping to promote Neil Kinnock ahead of the 1987 general election.
Lynne Franks PR was also involved with a number of charities and NGOs. In 1985, Franks helped to initiate Fashion Cares, a fundraising series of events which have since gone on to raise more than $10 million for HIV/Aids In the same year, she helped in the promotion of Live Aid and worked with Bob Geldof and Harvey Goldsmith to create Fashion Aid which raised $300,000 in aid of victims of famine in Africa. The gala fashion show event held in November at the Royal Albert Hall featured some of the world's best-known fashion designers including Armani and Yves Saint Laurent, with designs presented by top models including Grace Jones, Michael Caine, Freddie Mercury and Boy George.
Franks's agency worked with Amnesty International, helping to promote their fund-raising Human Rights Now! world tour, and with John Elkington to promote 'Green Consumer Week' in 1988. Franks herself attended the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp in 1984.
By the end of the 1980s, Franks had built a reputation as a colourful and flamboyant personality, and was well known for her adventurous fashion sense, regularly embracing spiritual and new age trends and frequently associating with high-profile celebrities, designers and figures across the fashion and entertainment industries. The character Edina Monsoon in the UK sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (created by Jennifer Saunders, a long-time friend and frequent associate of Franks) was intended to be a satirised version of Franks during this period. Franks pointed out: "Jennifer has said it's not me, and I accept it's a composite character. But I assume she took certain aspects. After all, how many Buddhist PRs are there with two children and a secretary and office like that?" Although Franks may have been initially upset at the parody, she quickly used the publicity to her advantage, renaming the Absolut Vodka party she was organising, as the 'Absolut-ly Fabulous' party and having Jennifer Saunders as the guest of honour to turn on the Christmas tree lights.
Read more about this topic: Lynne Franks