Buffalo David Bitton is a denim company that hails from Montreal, Canada.  While visiting the big apple, our fashion students had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Diane Alexander, the head of public relations in the New York branch of Buffalo (not to be confused with the nearby city of Buffalo). Upon entering the building, we were greeted by Diane with a big cup of coffee in one hand and a big smile on her face. Her first words were “I’m not a morning person” and yet she was the most excitable and perky person that spoke to us. Diane was one of my favorite speakers on the trip, she not only spoke of her job description but she also got the students involved in her presentation. It was a very lively interactive experience, especially for being so early in the morning.

A handful of Diane’s responsibilities, as the head of PR, consist of placing products in magazines, social media, television and movies. Diane explained it’s not only print ads and commercials used for publicity; it’s also acquiring celebrities to wear the merchandise. This form of advertising can be more effective as it is subtle and feeds into the readers’ subconscious. If celebrities are wearing Buffalo David Bitton merchandise, it could be showcased multiple times rather than featured in one ad a customer may overlook. However to every good there is an evil. If a celebrity begins to down spiral (like Brittany shaving her head – type of down spiral), and is wearing the product, it could be damaging to the company’s image, therefore select celebrities are invited to wear the product and others are not.

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Diane also announced that Buffalo is rapidly approaching the grand opening their first store in NYC, which will be located in Soho.  Buffalo not only has a great brand name (obviously being from Buffalo, I am a proud Buffalonian), but the products are a great quality and are fabulous trendy styles. We had the opportunity to behold “the closet” while being at Buffalo, it was a room bursting with merchandise and it was amazing. The fall line was so trendy but in the most sophisticated method possible. During the whole presentation Diane spoke of these skull pants, the first image that came to mind was a black jean with corny white skulls all over it. While in “the closet” I beheld the skull pants and they were unbelievable. The pants featured tonal skulls that looked almost like a brocade pattern; it was only when you examined it long enough that you could see the skulls within the pattern.

Buffalo David Bitton is a remarkable company with a talented head of PR. Genesee cannot thank Diane enough for spending time teaching us about the industry. Diane had the patience to meet with our fashion students for the second year in a row. Once again it was an outstanding presentation that the students will never forget, especially for someone who said “I’m not a morning person.”