Karla Otto
Karla Otto
Karla Otto is an international Public relations officer and brand strategist for luxury, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, art and design industry leaders. She is behind one of the world’s most influential fashion press agencies, and manages over 300 staff in Europe, the US and Asia.[6]
Career
Karla has over 30 years of experience shaping and communicating the unique visions of its client.
She has been at the forefront of much of this change over the last 36 years.
She has been referred to as “the queen of PR” and “the stateswomen of PR”, and her agency is one of the most influential in the world.
She founded her own PR company - Karla Otto – in 1982 after a short career as a model exposed her to the fashion industry.
The company's unparalleled network of offices spans eight cities worldwide: Milan, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, California, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. She handles public relations strategies, media consultations, show production and showrooms for over 70 brands, including Givenchy, Valentino, MARNI, Berluti and Moncler, as well as a host of beauty and lifestyle brands.
“The communications industry is now fundamentally more complex than it has ever been.
Traditional media – and their authoritative power – have changed beyond recognition, and the pulse is no longer a matter of a few star editors, but the product of multiple streams of opinions and styles that are evolving at a mind-numbing speed.”[5]
Blending the best of fashion, beauty, design, lifestyle, and arts & culture, Karla's brand offers a panoramic view of opportunities and the ability to execute complex ideas.
In 2017, Otto partnered with Paris- and Shanghai-based entrepreneur Isabelle Chouvet, founder of K2, which is an Asian experiential marketing and events agency.
K2 has offices in Shanghai and Tokyo, and their clients have included the likes of Bvlgari, Louis Vuitton, Kering, Cartier and L’Oréal.
K2 and Karla Otto merged to form a new umbrella entity called The Independents Group with over 400 people on its staff, though both agencies will continue to serve clients under their respective brand names.
In 2019, Karla Otto also partnered with Dubai-based luxury communications agency, The Qode, to further their expansion into Asia.
Karla was a former runway model in the 1970s who walked in Milan, Tokyo and Paris before settling in Milan to work in the press department of Italian fashion brand Elio Fiorucci.