PRESS: SKIRTING THE ISSUES

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Sometimes the borrowing is for keeps. Manufacturers ship piles of clothing to the magazines for their photo shoots. When the garment bags are returned, they are sometimes considerably lighter. "There would be a certain amount of evaporation,'' recalls Michael Borden, a former Mademoiselle style director.

That's the little stuff. Increasingly, the big deals are cut between publishers and advertisers. Ed Filipowski, a managing director at Keeble Cavaco & Duka, one of the top fashion-publicity firms in New York City, says the "lines between advertising and editorial are blurring." What, after all, are friends for? As at many fashion magazines, the advertising department of Vogue produces a "wish list" for its editorial staff. Vogue publisher Ronald Galotti translates: "It means, 'When everything else is equal, please use my client [in a fashion spread].' I'm not going to say that editors pay no attention. They are smart people. But there is a huge difference between that and collusion."

Still, the designers know their power. "It's very common to hear 'Ralph [Lauren] had 25 pages. We had just 15,'" says an employee for a major designer. And the designer or the public relations agent turns up the heat. "First you complain to the editor," explains a publicist. "As a last resort, you go to the publishing side. You say, 'I just want you to know that our client is not getting the coverage he should be getting. We thought you'd want to know this before something happens.'" The publicist adds, "Today you know this call will be heard. A few years ago, it was not so well received." Vogue's Galotti acknowledges that "the fashion business is soft. Clients ask for as much as they can get. How much you give them is up to the individual magazine."

Escada represents the classic case of a savvy and rich advertiser whose clout can be measured in magazine pages. Between 1992 and 1994, the manufacturer's advertising budget jumped from $3.7 million to $5.2 million, partly to help trumpet the launch of Escada Sport, a new line. At the same time, the number of Escada's appearances in the fashion pages of national publications and Women's Wear Daily tripled, from about 30 to 90. A company spokeswoman points out that Escada did not always receive its best editorial coverage in publications where it most heavily advertised. Still, Escada clearly got something for its $5.2 million. "No one's going to say, 'Give me an ad, and I'll give you two credits,'" says an insider. "But if you're holding out a $3 million ad budget, it would not be surprising if there were an explicit or implicit understanding that editorial credits would be forthcoming."

Some of the newer business arrangements are especially troubling. At Harper's Bazaar, creative director Fabien Baron is also the owner of Baron & Baron, a design agency whose clients include Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss. Though his role at Bazaar is an influential one, Baron is technically a freelancer. This allows him to take on outside work, and his well-known arrangement raises few eyebrows. "I have no problem with this," says his boss, Tilberis. "Why is it a problem? Fabien Baron has nothing to do with placing ads or choosing the clothes that go in the magazine."