Harrods and Whistles PR duo launch fashion PR agency Aisle 8

Based in Shoreditch, Aisle 8 aims to combine traditional PR with digital marketing and SEO expertise.
 
The agency starts life with four retained clients, including new luxury e-commerce site VeryExclusive.co.uk from ShopDirect, which launches in February, Munich-based luxury e-tailer STYLEBOP.com, Samuel L Jackson’s charity One for the Boys and Covetique.com.

Founding partner Lauren Stevenson was formerly head of PR and comms at Harrods, where she pioneered the Digital Style Summit – an international fashion blogging campaign.

Before Harrods, Stevenson was one of the founding members and PR director of online retailer my-wardrobe.com, where she worked on its expansion into the Middle East, Australia, Scandinavia and the US.
 
Stevenson said: "In today’s tech space, PR has completely changed. The lines have blurred between the channels into what is simply a digital conversation on a global scale.

"We bridge the gap between digital marketing and traditional PR, marrying our relationships with influencers and the media with our understanding and experience of digital marketing for e-commerce, where the ROI is clear to see."
 
Co-founder Virginia Norris was previously head of global PR at Whistles. During this time she oversaw the international launch of the e-commerce site and most recently the launch of the menswear offer.
 
Her previous roles were at Diesel and Purple PR where she built relationships with bloggers. She also worked on Dover Street Market, and was the first to introduce the luxury market to blogging sites such as Hypebeast and SlamXhype.
 
Norris added: "We work with brands to find a common thread that can exist as a story and a conversation across all platforms. There no longer needs to be a digital specialist in an agency, as everyone is now a digital native, whether consumer or industry. As a consumer no one sees or recognises this divide and this needs to be recognised across the industry."