RED PR Founder Named Crain’s Communications Leader

RED PR founder and president Julia Labaton has been named to Crain’s New York Business Notable Leaders in Communications 2026. The recognition covers her leadership of the New York City and East Hampton agency for beauty, wellness, fashion and lifestyle brands, as well as PR Boutiques International. The special report goes live today at CrainsNewYork.com and appears in the print issue of Crain’s New York Business. Honorees are chosen through peer nomination and editorial review.

Beauty And Fashion Experience

Labaton founded RED PR in 2000. For more than 25 years, the agency has helped beauty brands earn media coverage and establish credibility.

Recent work includes the U.S. launch of Bellissima Hair Tools’ Diffon Supreme, which won over shoppers in the curly-hair market. RED PR also launched CND Shellac, which created the gel-polish nail category and has driven multimillion-dollar category growth.

In fashion, RED PR has secured brand partnerships for hundreds of fashion shows and delivered publicity for designers and retailers including Enzo Custom, Victor deSouza, LoveBinetti and Jenny’s Barn. The agency introduced luxury menswear brand Enzo Custom to new markets in Nashville and Greenwich.

PR Boutiques Leadership

Labaton is serving a second term as president of PR Boutiques International, the non-profit global network of independent PR agencies. PRBI doubled in size during her 2024-2025 term.

“Credibility is the one asset that compounds. Reach fades and trends turn over, while trust grows with each strong endorsement and every promise kept. Every program we create starts there,”

“I am grateful to Crain's, to the colleagues who nominated me, and to the clients and PRBI partners who hold us to that standard.”

Senior Led Programs

RED PR is a founder-led, full-service PR agency in New York City and East Hampton with a quarter century of beauty PR experience. Senior strategists guide every RED PR program with decades of experience, while proprietary, secure agentic AI tools speed up execution.

Clients get senior attention on every account, deep beauty specialization and long-standing relationships with New York editors, writers, influencers and affiliate managers.