Episode Ashley Paige Bikini Or Bust Episode The Ascension Of Antionette August 8 2008
FASHION PROFILE
episode Ashley Paige
Bikini or Bust episode The Ascension of Antoinette August 8 2008
Television network TLC
presents a new fashion series based on the story of famous swimsuit designer
Ashley
Paige and her efforts to build her fashion label business. The show
is called Ashley
Page: Bikini or Bust and airs Fridays at 10:00PM.
Season 1 Episode 10 Summary: The Ascension of Antionette. Ashley decides
she needs better PR to help get her business to the next level, but she
quickly discovers that good PR is way out of her price range. Her loyal
assistant Antoinette insists that she can do the job,but maybe Antoinette
has enough to handle. Will Antoinette step up to the plate and get Ashley
the coverage she needs? And about Leah and her ideas for exposure?
Ashley meets a charming customer who comes into the store looking for the
perfect summer bikini. But the customer doesn't know Ashley by face and
mistakenly questions her ability to produce the custom design. When Ashley
reveals herself, the customer is overwhelmed with joy as she is a huge fan
of the Ashley Paige bikini line. After the deal is done and the customer
leaves, Ashley realizes it is time to develop her persona publicly so that
fashionistas can put the famous name with the human face. So she decides
to pursue PR (public relations) support to develop her biography and celebrity
identity.
Office assistant Antionette steps up and offers to do the work; Ashley is
skeptical but encourages her to give it a try. Then Ashley heads off to
talk with HSM, a PR firm and friend of her line, about getting professional
PR for celebrity exposure. The meeting goes great and Ashley is excited,
then she learns how expensive the work and commitment can be and is floored
again about her lack of funds. Sound familiar?
Back at the store Antionette has made progress on getting the hip 944
Magazine to consider Ashley's bikini line for an upcoming summer theme
issue and the cover photoshoot. She promises a little too much to Ashley
though, and the enueing process of attending the shoot, working out the
real opportunity, and facing the challenges of world-class PR bring out
Antionette's true colors.
In an interesting side story, Ashley's mom is determined to help Ashley's
sales by spreading the message. So she creates marketing flyers and distributes
them at Venis Beach. The scenes of Leah meeting and greeting with casual
beach-goers are precious, a gritty slice of American entrepreneurship. When
Ashley finds out about Leah's industriousness, we learn about how Ashley
really sees her own brand identity.
For aspiring fashion designers, "The Ascension of Antionette" is an eye-opening
story. Ashley has progressively sought outside professionals in many areas
of her business and now steps up to the plate to pursue celebrity public
relations for her bikini line. Antionette does a great job of focusing on
the strengths of Ashley's brand when presenting it to a potential outlet
and then persists in finding a fit for exposure that is a win-win for Ashley
Paige and the magazine.
Here we get to see the development of a world-class brand even in the modest
yet effective approach to presenting the brand to a broad audience. Ashley
shines when interviewed, and her choices for staff members with loyalty
and problem-solving skills really pay off. Even the simple scene of Juan
redirecting Leah to a project she can complete and feel proud of show the
wise choices Ashley has made in building a team.
Not to mention that the photoshoot of Ashley Paige bikinis with topmodel
Jessica Miller is spectacular. Much of the story in Ashly Paige: Bikini
or Bust is really about trying to organize a lifestyle for Ashley that
supports her extreme talent. While we would love to see even more of the
actual fashion artwork in action, like the sketching, the sewing table construction
work, more of the Project Runway-type material, the series entertains
by showing how success of the Ashley Paige swimwear line will depend as
much on managing Ashley's sometimes chaotic world as it depends on the bikini
designs themselves.