Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

New York Fashion Week begins today, something I certainly look forward to each season. With Mercedes Benz button-ladened site, it seems this season is all about flair. Flair in style, flair in attitude and this Tuesday night, flair for name-recognizable fashion icons supporting a Presidential candidate well known for his...flair. When I heard about Runway to Change, a major fashion event to support the Obama Victory Fund, I giggled with school-girl giddiness at the thought of being in one place with so many amazing fashion industry greats, but then I reflected more on how fashion and politics seemed to have coincided in a mutually beneficial PR effort.

Runway to Change will include special guests Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker, both obviously synonymous with style. While that alone may get the press to attend, some pretty incredible fashion designers are participating as well, such as Zac Posen, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi and Diane von Furstenberg (plus about 22 other designers); all headliners themselves. Specifically taking place during fashion week to draw out the hard core fashionista's (mainly due to the price tag), this fashion event is actually nothing less than what I would expect from the Obama campaign. With WWD and other fashion publications covering Michelle Obama's incredible style and the possibly wanted (but not) branding of Obama as a "rockstar," this fashion come political fund-raising event is killing two birds with one stone--PR for the designers, Wintour and Parker and PR for Obama's campaign. (Something we've been seeing more and more of lately with the fashion industry such as their love affair with reality television.)

Whether Obama wins or loses in November, one thing will be certain--he will have left an indelable mark on how future candidates will be creative in how they raise money for their campaign and seek out each and every person for their vote. We are already seeing this with his use of social media, his online presence and his PR outreach overall. Pairing up with Anna Wintour for Runway to Change is just another creative idea that further solidifies the fashionable aspect of his image.

I'll be attending Runway to Change and blogging about it further. Will you be there? And more importantly, what do you think of this fashion-political mix?

*Photo credit: MB Fashion Week