Tall, tan, and terrific! Manhattan style-maker and uber-publicist Alison Brod of Alison Brod Public Relations.
New York City is surprisingly small, and once you break into a certain circle you’ll find that you soon know everyone at a cocktail party or charity event. It can be kind of fun and wonderful that in this town of millions, you can create your own smaller social set.
And while there are sets and sub-sets in Manhattan society, there are also the “pied pipers:” I call them pied pipers because these are the folk who lead the pack–the “alphas,” the “tastemakers,” call them what you will. There are a handful of these folks who seem to know everyone and can connect dots and make the right connections and are always in the right place at the right time.
And since this blog is not just about interior design (our goal is to expand your horizons across the lifestyle platform), I wanted to introduce you to one of New York’s chicest “alphas,” my good friend and the wildly talented PR maven Alison Brod who heads up Alison Brod Public Relations. Her firm has repped everyone from L’Oreal to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Omega watches, and she has a staff of some 50 in her sprawling, pink-clad offices on lower Park Avenue. Whether it’s a star-studded event, a product launch, or the debut of a new restaurant, Alison handles it all with gobs of grace under pressure.
Says Alison, “We help engage consumers. Our campaigns help drive sales.”
Or as former US Weekly editor Janice Min puts it, “Alison knows who has heat at the moment and understands what it takes to get something in the magazine. She has a healthy respect for the media landscape, she hustles, and she seems to know everyone.”
In my book, Alison makes rain, and plenty of it.
Plus, she has great taste in interior design. Maybe she’ll invite us over for a tour… Nudge, nudge.
So what does this lifestyle superstar have to say when I ask her ten short-but-telling questions with a certain Proustiant bent:
1. Wallpaper or paint?
Wallpaper.
2. Lowe’s or Home Depot?
Home Depot.
3. Manolo or Jimmy Choo?
YSL Tributes.
YSL Tribute sandals, Alison's go-to shoe.
4. Modern or traditional?
Art Deco, it is in-between.
5. Four Seasons Restaurant or Four Seasons Hotel?
Four Season Hotel.
6. Snooki or Olivia?
Olivia.
Olivia gives good shade.
7. Robyn or Florence and the Machine?
Florence and the Machine. Or Chaka Khan.
8. Curtains or blinds?
I’m a publicist who lives in a glass house: I hit one button, and the shades come down.
9. Balthazar or Pastis?
Neither. The Mark or Le Charlot. I don’t aspire to be downtown cool so uptown it is.
10. Red wine or white?
Rose, of course.
All hail Domaines Ott rose wine, a summer staple.
P.S. John and I are off to High Point, North Carolina bright and early tomorrow morning for the twice-annual furniture shows, so expect LOADS of Tweets and Facebook updates as we tour the showrooms and drink Pinot Grigio at the numerous parties. J’adore High Point!
