Erika Bearman, the head of global PR for Oscar de la Renta, is an internet celebrity, with almost 225,000 Twitter followers and an Instagram that garners thousands of likes per post. And this season, the brand are fully utilising her online fame by showing her Twitter and Instagram followers their autumn 2013 campaign images today (July 24) before they appear in the weighty September issues in August. (She teased with a glimpse before following up with full shots, see below.)

It’s not unusual for a brand to preview their campaigns online, indeed it’s pretty much the norm at this stage, but to use a Twitter or Instagram account belonging to a person rather than the brand is a little out of the ordinary. But then the Oscar PR Girl online persona perfectly encapsulates the ethos of the brand, respectful and referential but completely current and relevant – 80-year-old Oscar de la Renta is famous for dressing First Ladies and American society types as well as younger stars like Rachel Bilson and Olivia Palermo.

When we spoke to Bearman last month, pictured above with de la Renta, she told us how her Twitter fame was an unexpected boon. ‘I'm a little shocked! It’s weird, it’s not something that I planned for,’ she said. ‘I think it’s a function of the platforms – social media is about people, and a person can be your connection to a brand. Like a tour guide.’ 

It seems that the powers that be at Oscar de la Renta are increasingly recognising the tangible benefits having such a well-known ‘tour guide’ can bring with the brand’s CEO Alex Bolen telling Women’s Wear Daily: ‘One can measure clicks and see how much the cash register rings. Are we making decisions based on that today? Yes.’

WWD, meanwhile, sees the online sharing as ‘an early test on the part of de la Renta — and another sign of how the digital world, and Instagram … in particular, are impacting the way fashion brands reach consumers’.