W Hotels to Name a 'Fashion Director'

Putting a new spin on the term "designer hotel," boutique chain W Hotels is hiring a fashion director to amp up its style credentials and its profile within the fashion industry.

After a two-year search, the chain is planning to announce next week—on Feb. 11, the opening day of New York Fashion Week—that it has hired stylist Amanda Ross in what is very likely a first for the hotel industry. W Hotels, which operates 36 properties worldwide, is a unit of Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Fashion directors are commonly employed by retailers to keep them on the cutting edge of design and on good terms with hot designers. They often maintain a high profile. Bergdorf Goodman's silver-coifed fashion director Linda Fargo, for example, is photographed and blogged about as often as many designers.

W Hotels wants in on that action. With Ms. Ross, the chain gets a veteran who has consulted for designers including Elie Tahari, Dennis Basso and Julien Macdonald—and who has ties in Hollywood. "She will definitely help us be more credible in our outlook on fashion," says Eva Ziegler, W Hotels' global brand leader, who adds that Ms. Ross will be expected to "associate us with the right designers."

Ms. Ross's duties will include working with designers to create staff uniforms and special collections to be sold at the hotels, as well as helping to style the look of the rooms, lobbies and other common areas.

Thanks to its celebrity associations and paparazzi-covered events, fashion has been a potent marketing vehicle for everything from bottled water to tennis star Roger Federer. Last September, W Hotels pressed to forge ties with music and fashion by hiring a music director, Michaelangelo L'Acqua, who has worked with designer Tom Ford and at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.