In 2008, Lori Riviere decided to leave a law career to start her fashion PR company, Riviere Agency. The main driver: The state of New York Fashion Week.
“I had worked the shows as a freelancer, and I found myself thinking about all the ways they could be made better,” she said.
She now runs three fashion PR offices, in New York, Miami and L.A, which provide a range of services — only some of which center on fashion week.
For the fall 2018 shows, starting next week, Riviere Agency’s representing designers including Leanne Marshall (a “Project Runway” alum) and Vivi Zubedi, known for hijab and modest designs. She’s also working with Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
“We have a lot of international clients because they like our integrated services,” she said. “We have production experience, plus we have someone on the team dedicated to casting.”
Her team will also be busy managing the influencer dressing program they set up seasons ago, which involves teaming with designers to dress hundreds of international influencers for the shows.
“It’s all hands on deck,” she said. And, despite recent rumblings about the fall of fashion week, she doesn’t see her Februarys and Septembers freeing up anytime soon.
“When I see stories about ‘troubled’ NYFW, it just challenges me to make it more interesting,” she said. “It’s never going to go away if people keep innovating the setup and working to keep it relevant.”
Glossy asked Riviere to recap a recent day, which included previewing runway collections, making late-night calls to clients and squeezing in snuggle time with her one-year-old son.
7 a.m.: I wake up and check my email. I like to get to any urgent messages from overseas clients before my son, Sebastian, wakes up.
7:30 a.m.: After chopping strawberries and raspberries for his breakfast, I make eggs for both of us. We eat together on the sofa — putting him in the high chair just seems like too much work.
8 a.m.: I spend the morning with the “Today” show in the background. Sebastian plays, while I text my team with reminders about meetings for the day.
8:10 a.m.: I Facetime with Vivi Zubedi’s team in Indonesia about the designer’s NYFW show. Vivi is very much focused on getting the word out about the female artisans from South Kalimantan she worked with on her collection. I suggest creating a picture book. The team likes the idea.
9 a.m.: My nanny arrives. Whew! I hop in the shower. Right now, I am obsessed with the vegan hair-care line Davroe, so I use their volumizing shampoo and conditioner. And my skin is a bit dry, so I opt for my Dove Body Wash and skip shaving my legs.
9:15 a.m.: Next, it’s into my closet to pick out an outfit: I opt for a pair of black skinny jeans by Joe’s and the black blouse Leanne Marshall gave me for my birthday last year. I finish the look with a GirlBoy blazer, my go-to Links of London earrings and my Chanel boots. I bought them as a present to myself a few years ago and live in them in the colder months.
Lori Riviere and designer Leanne Marshall
10 a.m.: I remind the nanny about the picadillo in the fridge that I made for Sebastian’s lunch, then I speed-walk to the subway while praying for no train troubles.
10:15 a.m.: I make our team meeting. Today, it’s NYFW RSVP updates for each client, media updates for both our NYFW and retainer clients, and an influencer recap from our influencer team lead. Candace, who manages our fashion week inbox, gives me the good news that Cosmopolitan and Essence have requested tickets for shows.
10:35 a.m.: LDJ Producer Rachel Young texts me with the news that Aveda is coming on as a hair and makeup sponsor. I text her back and tell her I love her, because I do.
10:45 a.m.: I reply to emails, and quickly review a contract from The High Line Hotel for a presentation show and party we are producing.
11 a.m.: Our NYFW celeb wrangler calls to give me updates on celebrities confirmed for our shows. Mindy Kaling and Issa Rae are on the top of our wishlist!
11:30 a.m.: Hop on the A train to 14th Street for a lunch meeting at Soho House.
11:45 a.m.: I’m early, so I pop into Sephora to pick up some backup makeup to keep in my bag on show days. The bins by the cash wrap get me again!
Noon: I sit down to lunch with Hong Kong Trade Development Council to review the details for the Fashion Hong Kong runway show, featuring brands Harrison Wong, Heaven Please+ and Anveglosa. We go over their guest list, and the team asks a few production questions that I run by LDJ Productions via text.
1:30 p.m.: I head over to The High Line Hotel to review details for the Fashion Hong Kong after-party. We review the catering menu and make selections based on what will be easiest to carry with a clutch in one hand and an iPhone in the other.
2 p.m.: I grab an Uber and head to Leanne Marshall’s atelier to take a quick look at her runway collection. It’s gorgeous! Like all of her collections, it has an eco-friendly spin. She’s excited to show it.
3 p.m.: I run into Starbucks, grab a black tea and respond to emails on my phone. IMG has emailed with some production deadlines that I forward to Jonathan in our office to add to our calendar.
3:30 p.m.: I’m back at the office for a quick meeting with Dan Liu’s runway show producers. We discuss the influencers Dan wants to dress for NYFW, and the team informs us we’ll have a nice range of pieces to work with; they’ll provide dresses beyond sample size.
4:15 p.m.: On to an internal meeting with our head of media to review NYFW preview stories in development. She’s landed some key desksides for our handbag clients Samira Buchi and Doris Dorothea, so we high-five on that.
4:45 p.m.: Back at my desk to respond to emails. I need a snack, so I work while I eat an apple and a Ghirardelli dark chocolate square. (Okay, three.) Then I run out the door to make it to pilates on time.
5:05 p.m.: Hustle into Brooklyn Heights Pilates, late as usual. Luckily, my instructor, Bianca, doesn’t make me feel guilty.
6:15 p.m.: I get home, relieve nanny and have some snuggle time with Sebastian.
6:30 p.m.: I pop salmon with lemon, red pepper flakes, garlic and sea salt into the oven. Then I make some rice and steam some frozen broccoli. Once all is prepped, I scroll through the Instagram Stories of the editors and influencers we follow.
7 p.m.: My husband arrives home just as Sebastian is throwing a temper tantrum, and he takes baby duty so I can plate dinner.
7:15 p.m.: It’s no cell phones allowed at the dinner table, and Sebastian eats with us. I remind my husband of the morning meeting I have at Barneys. He’ll need to cover the morning routine.
8 p.m.: I give Sebastian a bath, then put him in the cutest baby version of old-man plaid pajamas. Then we hang out in his room: He plays, and I check emails and work on show invites from my laptop. By 9, he’s tucked in for the night.
9 p.m.: Shower time! Then I flip through some trashy TV shows to wind down.
10 p.m.: I spend an hour wrapping up work from the day and responding to the overseas emails that are starting to come in from Asia. Then I review my calendar for tomorrow and make a list of to-dos.
11 p.m.: One last call: I conference in with the teams working on the Vivi Zubedi show to finalize details, and ensure all possible travel issues are being handled for those making the trip from Indonesia to NYC. I remind them of production deadlines, and we set a time to check in again.
11:45 p.m.: I open the Simple Habit app, do a five-minute meditation session and (finally) go to sleep.
