Daily Front Row

2012 February 11

Catching Up With...Lottie Oakley!

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Lottie Oakley and Tom Florio
Patrick McMullan View Gallery

Formerly associate publisher at Vogue, Lottie Oakley has a NYFW gig underway (look for this chicette in the AmEx Skybox!) and an intriguing new project in the works...

What’s new?
I launched Haralux, a luxury lifestyle management firm, in December. The goal is to manage talent and create sustainable luxury brands.

What did you take away from 13 years in advertising at Vogue?
Vogue never really looked behind or beside its competition. Of course, advertising pages was always an indicator, but Vogue is in a league of its own and I think it comes from Anna Wintour being at the helm.

How did it feel to depart?
It’s never easy to leave a brand like Vogue because it becomes a part of you. But everything has to come to an end, and there wasn’t much fear of moving on.

Have you stayed in touch with Tom Florio?
I see Tom very often! Probably every week. We’re still very good friends.

What’s your NYFW gig all about?
I’m the official host of the American Express Skybox. We have a packed schedule with editors, designers, fashion authorities, and tastemakers! 

Any tidbits from your early days in the industry?
In the mid-nineties, I worked as national sales director at Anne Klein. Virginia Smith did the PR, Patrick Robinson was the designer, and Andrew Rosen was the president. At a dinner, Andrew said, ‘Lottie, I want you to touch this shirt—look at how it stretches! It’s this brand that you’re going to hear about.’ It was Prada! He wanted to do a line like that at a lower price point and call it 212, and he asked me to work on it. I was in my twenties, making very little money, and he wanted to pay me even less, so I couldn’t do it. That brand is Theory today!