In Conversation with Erin Pollard

Tell us about your background: 

“Fashion is dead!” a woman shouted from the halls of Harper’s BAZAAR in its 150th year of publishing my last year overseeing fashion partnerships there. This ominous trope stayed with me long after, but it wasn’t until recently that I began to understand why it couldn’t make me happier.

I grew up in Maine waiting tables at my family’s restaurant business and had aspirations of moving to New York.  I’d always loved fashion by way of the magazines my mother bought, but in the 90s, the brands featured were not accessible to me, so I hunted my grandmothers (and grandfathers) closet to infuse creativity into my wardrobe.

I moved to NY and hustled advertising in the late aughts.  With the new global information era and rise of faster fashion, fashion magazines were poised for a comeback and Harper’s BAZAAR hired me as part of a new team.  I was in charge of building the American Fashion partnerships portfolio and later to oversee the coveted International portfolio.  At BAZAAR, I worked under a brilliant leader and marketer named Carol Smith and EIC Glenda Bailey alongside the most amazing team of branding and marketing savants.

After close to a decade at the brand, I became pregnant with my son and accepted a job at lifestyle brand goop building business partnerships with fashion brands.  Wellness was alive! And what I loved about working there was not only that it felt closer to my values, but I got to be a part of a boundary breaking omnichannel platform while nurturing the fashion relationships I’d built for years at magazines.

Cut to March 2020.  The pandemic forced a concrete shift in consumption at the very moment the fashion supply chain stopped, and widespread civil unrest began boiling over.  “Fashion is dead.”  I thought, but this time it felt different. “Disposability and exclusion is dead”, was more appropriate.  A furlough period allowed me to reflect on how the connection between brand and consumer must change drastically.  It was at this time that I became excited about friend Kristy Hurt’s effort to connect her network and started to connect with peers in the co-lab.  I decided to start my own values driven marketing consultancy called POLLARD and take on the role of CMO at DISPLAY COPY, a vintage fashion platform with a mission to create a more circular fashion economy.  The environment is not dead, Inclusivity is not dead, truthful marketing is not dead, and fashion is alive!  it’s just going to be slower and smarter where I’m a part of it.

Best career advice you've ever received?

Don’t forget to use your vacation time.  

I recall my 20s in New York being very lonely; I couldn’t afford exotic vacations, so I wouldn’t take breaks.   I think what’s most important is finding headspace, making time to sleep, and being outside. These are the things that make me feel creative.  No suitcase required.

What leadership qualities are important to you?

When I worked at goop, we were required to read a book called “The Collaborative Way”.  It articulates a process of leading and co-working which emphasizes listening generously, speaking straight, being there for each other, and honoring commitments.  I keep notes from the book by my bed and refer to them as a guide for honoring relationships at home and work.  

Most bizarre career moment?

After I had my son, I took a trip to Milan with my family for a goop business trip.  I had just returned from maternity leave and was breastfeeding, so my mom followed me around the city with the baby while I met with clients.  In the middle of a meeting with the male CMO and team at Giorgio Armani, I heard crying.  I continued the presentation while feeding my child with my mom at the table.  At the time it felt like career suicide. But shortly after, goop began a partnership with GA, so I figure if there was ever a moment to go topless in a meeting, it was while representing goop.

And for fun, what is your favorite wardrobe staple?

Before a coffee with Muccia Prada and Gwyneth Paltrow (hands down career highlight) I purchased a Prada trench coat at the Piazza Del Doumo store out of pure excitement.  It’s versatile, timeless and reminds me of traveling to Europe, which I miss.

Website: pollardmarketing.com

Instagram: @erinjennie & @__pollard