I have been fashion blogging since early 2005. When I started, I had no idea what public relations was. It is fair to say I resisted when PR started to offer me attention. Fashion blogging was so naive. Back then, we posted scrappy little manifestos on how we were so much more credible than old media and big business.

Almost three years later, I have met many people in PR and established media, and accepted gratefully many an invitation and gift bag. The notion that fashion is full of PR flacks and media hacks is too simple to be true. The real system is a lot more nuanced, interdependent, and complicated.

Yesterday, I visited the Toronto Fashion Incubator to see the final seminar in a series sponsored by P&G Beauty. Krista Webster and Martha McKimm were on hand to share their professional experience in Public Relations with up and coming fashion entrepreneurs.

Fashion PR is not just for the big players. Certainly the mega-corporations and the glossy mags are in each other's Prada bags, but Public Relations is far more democratic than advertising. A great idea communicated well is the most valuable form of currency in a system that trades on interesting stories, and perfect timing. The best PR brings relevant ideas to an specific audience, and if it is remarkable enough, the ideas take on a life of their own.

Entrepreneurs and bloggers have access to a level of credibility and novelty that gives them an edge that can not be bought. This is why companies like P&G Beauty are happy to align themselves with organizations like the Toronto Fashion Incubator. Sharing resources, opportunities, and building relationships between established professionals and newcomers keeps the conversation fresh in an industry that is always looking for what is next.

There is always something happening next at the Toronto Fashion Incubator. Membership gives emerging talent an invitation to take advantage of fascinating events like the Promostyl Trend Forecasting Seminar for Spring/Summer 2009 on January 30, 2008. Register early, this is an opportunity to enjoy a valuable resource that small businesses rarely have access to.

PR has a greater influence in fashion than most other industries. What are your thoughts?