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Two of fashion’s most significant PR players are joining forces in London.
Lucien Pagès Communication and AIPR are merging to create a new entity named Lucien Pagès AIPR in the UK, the two firms announced on Wednesday. Lucien Pagès Communication’s Paris and New York offices will remain separate.
“ It’s an alliance under the umbrella of The Independents group,” Pagès explained during a joint interview with AIPR founder Adam Iezzi and The Independents CEO Isabelle Chouvet. The Independents, a luxury superagency, acquired Lucien Pagès Communication in December 2024.
The creative agency, owner of Karla Otto, Lefty and Bureau Betak has been on an acquisition spree as of late. With Lucien Pagès Communication, it adds a prestigious fashion PR firm to its portfolio.
Pagès didn’t have a presence in London until now. “London makes sense because it’s a huge platform for press, celebrity, influence and events. But with Adam on the ground, I could not do it, first of all, because I think he’s doing a great job and I didn’t want to compete with him, and also, with Adam, there was no space for me.”
The two have parallel paths: Iezzi, who was born in Australia, created his agency in London in 2005; born in France, Pagès opted for Paris to launch his agency in 2006. Both have a flair for scouting young designers and a track record of helping them break through. Iezzi started representing Jonathan Anderson right after the designer launched his JW Anderson label, long before he was appointed Loewe creative director. Soon after creating his agency, Pagès began to represent Japanese designer Chitose Abe, whose Sacai was unknown in Europe at the time. He also supported Simon Porte Jacquemus in the early days.
“What I saw in Adam that resonated with me is the way he works with designers,” says Pagès. “It’s a major common trait: we bet on the good designers very early on. In that way, I am the Adam of Paris and Adam is the Lucien of London.” They already share some clients for their respective markets including JW Anderson, Loewe and APC.
“For me, what was lacking was a kind of global reach, and so merging with Lucien officially means that I can automatically offer that,” says Iezzi. “And vice versa — there are many clients that he has that might want specific UK coverage for PR and we’ll be able to offer that. That’s the most obvious one. I am also very impressed by The Independents, the broader group of people that they’ve brought together. It means that I have access to that. Before, I felt like this tiny little agency trying to punch above my weight and now I feel like I can actually deliver what I’ve always wanted to do.”
“This deal really represents the values of The Independents, which is encouraging entrepreneurship, pushing growth in a way that makes sense,” says Chouvet. “It’s different from a classic acquisition that stays on the side. This time, you have two coming together, which is quite exciting.”
The creative agency, owner of Karla Otto, Lefty and Bureau Betak, has been on an acquisition spree as of late. Most recently acquiring New York and Beijing-based design studio 2x4, it now has 18 agencies.
In June 2023, The Independents announced a $400 million cash injection led by investment management firm Towerbrook and Banijay, a media group founded by entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit. At the time, a joint press release stated that the financial backing would be used to “support the company in realising its ambition to more than double in size by 2025 [from 2022 numbers], through a strong acquisition strategy and dynamic international expansion”. And it did: The Independents generated $800 million in sales in 2024, up from $350 million in 2022.
At a time when luxury companies are containing — if not cutting — costs, you might expect them to reduce agency fees to save money. But Chouvet, who is a relentless entrepreneur, seems unfazed by the current economic climate. “I don’t know how the year is going to end, but for now, everyone tries to be as strong as possible and to be as agile as they can. And that’s what we offer with The Independents — agility,” she says, adding that having a widespread geographic presence is critical at a time like this. “That’s why it’s so important for Lucien to have Adam now on the ground and to be able to be together, making them much stronger.”
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Lucien Pagès joins luxury superagency The Independents
