A top fashion PR company now represents Grindr

In bizarre news, public relations agency PR Consulting – which handles Christopher Kane, Christian Dior and Rick Owens among others – has announced that itwill now be representing the popular and slightly salacious dating app for gay and bisexual men, Grindr. While the company does represent some non-fashion clients American artist and Raf Simons collaborator Sterling Ruby, this client is, erm, of a slightly different ilk.

“As Grindr grows its global network and expands into new areas, we wanted to find a partner that would both understand our vision for a more connected world and push us to think differently about how we speak to our users,” Grindr vice president of marketing Landis Smithers told WWD. “While we knew PR Consulting might seem unexpected to some, their approach has always been highly creative, responsive and pro-active. We are thrilled that they also understand and embrace the vision we are developing.”

As for the response to the news, people seemed to be amused and bemused in equal measure. “#fashion,” wrote The New York Times’ style reporter Matthew Schneier in a tweet featuring a screenshot of the press release. “Is... is this happening? Are Grindr being represented by PR Consulting? Am I on hallucinogens?” wrote another Twitter user.

“PRC has a vast portfolio of clients, most notably in fashion, but we have for some time expanded into all areas of beauty, lifestyle, culinary, hospitality and e-commerce,” says PR Consulting’s co-founders Pierre Rougier and Sylvie Picquet-Damesme. “When we were first approached by Grindr, we thought it was a fascinating project to be a part of. Joel is passionate about G4E (the Grindr 4 Equality initiative) and we feel very strongly about putting forth a positive message to the LGBTQ community.”

“It might seem surprising to some in the fashion community that we would take Grindr on as a client,” they continue to say. “But this is a very large platform with more than seven million users worldwide and one million users engaged every second on Grindr. It would be foolish to think that the fashion, lifestyle, beauty and luxury industries would not view this as an incredible platform to reach an influential, potential consumer.”

It’s true that Grindr has a staggering reach; founded in 2009 by Joel Simkhai, the app now boasts users in 196 countries. This is a demographic which, up until recently, included Marc Jacobs, who announced his departure from the app by posting the above picture on Instagram. “Goodbye (for now) Grindr!” he wrote. “It was fun for *group* get togethers, but, what really excites me is my work!”