Who

The founder of Wilmot Communications, Paul Wilmot is one of biggest names in fashion publicity.

Backstory

Indiana native Wilmot moved to New York after graduating from Babson in the early 1970s, and started his PR career at Revlon. He decamped to Halston Perfume during the brand's disco heyday; after attempting to launch a perfume line of his own in the mid-'80s, he landed at Calvin Klein where he headed up publicity for the designer during his golden years (and mentored the late Carolyn Bessette, who worked with him in the PR department). In 1992, he joined Anna Wintour at Vogue shortly after her installation as editor-in-chief; he remained the mag's PR chief until 1995 when Si Newhouse and then-CEO Steve Florio tapped him to head up publicity for the entire company. He earned praise on the job for his savvy publicity skills, but after two years, he left to set up a shillery of his own. Today his firm Wilmot Communications represents a number of the biggest names in fashion and beauty.

Of note

Wilmot has worked with lots of big brands over the past decade, including Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, P. Diddy's Sean John, Jennifer Lopez's JLo line, Lancome, L'Oreal, and Beyoncé's House of Dereon. He's also flacked for doctors (Gerald Imber), spas and salons (Bliss, SalonAKS), art galleries (Bill Acquavella) and magazines (People, Parenting). And although it's not a particular specialty of his, he's had a number of restaurant/nightlife clients over the years, including Buddha Bar, John McDonald's Lever House and Lure Fishbar, and Giuseppe Cipriani's hotels and restaurants.

Personal

At the age of 24, the gay publicist wedded Mollie Wilmot, a Palm Beach socialite roughly 20 years his senior. (They later divorced and Mollie passed away in 2002.) Wilmot is currently single and lives on East 73rd Street in an apartment designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber. He's a three-time client of Bilhuber's, in fact: The interior designer—who also happens to be Anna Wintour's fave—designed Wilmot's office in Chelsea and his apartment in Miami Beach, too.

On screen

Wilmot was memorably punked by the Sacha Baron Cohen character Bruno on Da Ali G Show. In the excruciating clip, Wilmot can be seen trying to pantomime a message about the importance of safe sex to deaf children.