Tracy Paul, profile

For over 25 years, Tracy has built an all-star reputation as a commanding force in full-service public relations, event execution, and brand strategy-innovation-management. Her services range from experiential marketing, detailed budgets, timelines, celebrity contracts and licensing to in-house content production under the company’s Field And Cove umbrella to insure the highest quality and brand alignment. Clients in the fashion, wellness, travel and lifestyle arenas span from major public consumer brands (International Flavors & Fragrances, Nike, Liz Claiborne) to boutique luxury labels (John Lobb, Rolls-Royce, Louis Vuitton), along with events at Art Basel and Sundance Film Festival.

“If I walk down Madison Avenue or 5th Avenue, I don’t think there’s a brand that I haven’t worked with, from Manolo Blahnik to Uniqlo,” says Tracy. What started as a one-woman band in New York City quickly grew into a bicoastal agency employing a team of up to 67 trained experts. The company’s Manhattan and Los Angeles offices service clients that stretch into Europe, Asia and South America.

After graduating from Boston University with a broadcast journalism degree, Tracy’s internship on ABC’s 20/20 news show with Barbara Walters soon turned into a full-time job. Her first stint in publicity happened as a fluke, when she was asked to assist with communications while the show’s publicist was away in Paris. Soon, she was hired by Fashion Brands Ltd. to handle publicity for ten fashion brands. After being approached by outside companies, the Tracy Paul agency was incorporated in 1997. Storied French luxury leather goods brand Longchamp became the first name client.

“I went to the Longchamp factory and watched them go through seven quality checks; if it’s not perfect, it’s disposed of. That’s my expectation when buying something. When you buy goods of high quality, they last. Luxury is sustainability.” says Tracy.

A dual citizen of Italy and the U.S., with French-Italian ancestry, Tracy has a particular affinity with European clientele. “Fashion is in my blood,” she says. “Since I was 10 years old, I would pick out my clothes in the New York showrooms each season and have them delivered to my doorstep. The excitement I felt about that was epic. My father was the President of several notable menswear brands at the time so I had access to the brands I loved. My mom's family is from Italy, and her mother used to make couture dresses in New York just for her to wear to school. It’s aesthetically part of the culture to dress well at all times. Every weekend of my life, we would either be uptown at Bergdorf Goodman or in Soho visiting the art galleries. Breathing it all in.”

Other touchpoint Tracy Paul & Company clients include La Divine Comédie Avignon hotel, Cosabella, Buccellati jewelry, Strenesse, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and L’ermitage Beverly Hills hotel, along with nine-year stints with American Eagle and Vineyard Vines. Notable case studies—launching 17 global fashion licenses worldwide and negotiating Drew Barrymore as the face of the Pokémon franchise; securing funding from Brizo faucet company to back Jason Wu’s first fashion show in New York City; representing British jewelry brand Links of London for a decade and taking them to sale to Greek jewelry company Folli Follie; landing Le Mystère lingerie on The Oprah Winfrey Show; introducing upscale British fragrance house Clive Christian with Elton John to the U.S. market; putting Alora Ambiance on the map with product placement at Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s home; and brokering a two-year contract for Jennifer Lopez as the face of Tous jewelry. Rebel Wilson and Joan Jett for Hot Topic, and Dwayne Johnson for the United States Army are among many memorable licensing deals.

In 2018, Tracy repositioned her brand on the west coast through a two-year partnership contract between Tracy Paul & Company and the billion-dollar Entertainment Industry Foundation in Los Angeles. As Partner, she was there to both rebrand the organization and transform all philanthropic endeavors into more fruitful ventures. This prestigious deal was spurred by Tracy’s success in commercializing her friend Lauren Bush Lauren’s The FEED Foundation through a licensing partnership with Links of London, then expanded to West Elm.

“I have a rare understanding of philanthropy and how it relates to business,” says Tracy of her EIF experience. Among the many non-profits she personally supports include but are not limited to: Direct Relief, The Women's Alzheimer's Movement (founded by her friend, Maria Shriver), L.A. Dance Project, IACC, GlobalGiving, Best Buddies, God’s Love We Deliver, New Yorkers for Children and Awakenings Recovery Los Angeles.

Tracy Paul is also a proud graduate of Boston University’s marked Broadcast Journalism program and continues to lecture at the College of Communications to date.