Lynne Joanne Franks (born 16 April 1948) is a British communications strategist and writer. She founded Britain's top

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

firm in the early 1970s and worked with many British fashion brands. Later, she launched a women's radio station and worked on women's leadership initiatives. Franks is considered to be the instigator of

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, England, twice a year, in June and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fash ...

, when she proposed one marquee for numerous designers to exhibit in one place. Frank is also rumoured to be the inspiration for the charter

Edina EDINA is a centre for digital expertise, based at the University of Edinburgh as a division of the Information Services Group. Services EDINA front and back ends, front-end services (those accessed directly by the user) are available free at ...

in British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous

Early life

Franks was born and raised in North London in 1948. The daughter of a Jewish butcher, Franks attended Minchenden Grammar School in Southgate,''The International Who's Who (2004)'', p. 561, Europa Publications, UK. leaving at the age of 16. She completed a shorthand typing course at Pitman's College and was a regular dancer on the popular music TV programme Ready Steady Go!

Career

Franks initially worked in various secretarial jobs before taking a journalistic role at '' Petticoat'', working under Eve Pollard and alongside Janet Street-Porter. Following a brief period as a PR assistant and at the encouragement of the fashion designer Katharine Hamnett, Franks started her own PR agency at the age of 21.

PR firm

Franks started Lynne Franks PR. Her first clients included Hamnett's fashion business, Tuttabankem, and Wendy Dagworthy.O'Byrne (2009) p. 124. Working initially from her home, the new agency moved to the Covent Garden area of London. The agency subsequently worked with high street brands including Harvey Nichols and Tommy Hilfiger, and represented individuals such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Annie Lennox,

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

and Ruby Wax.Dahle, Cheryl. "How to Make your Mark", '' Fast Company Magazine'', (US), 30 November 2000 (Issue 41) Franks PR also worked briefly with the Labour Party in 1986. In October 1993, she stepped down as chairperson to concentrate on broadcasting. The firm was later renamed Life PR.

London Fashion Week

In 1984, Franks persuaded the Murjani Corporation (owners of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans) to sponsor a large tent outside the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington so that numerous designers could exhibit in one place, in what is largely considered to be the first

Viva and GlobalFusion

In July 1995, Franks chaired a consortium that launched Viva! 963, Britain's first radio station for women, with Franks herself hosting a twice-weekly interview show entitled Frankly Speaking. Following the publication of her autobiography in 1997, Franks moved to California, and formed GlobalFusion, a cause-related marketing agency, working to promote environmentally-friendly fashion and cosmetic brands and helping to launch '' The Big Issue'' in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

SEED

While in California, Franks developed the idea of Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics (SEED).Byrne, Ciar. "Lynne Franks: Working Woman", ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', London, 23 May 2005, p. 4. In collaboration with Tribal Education, Franks developed the SEED Women into Enterprise Programme, a blended learning course for self-employment. Aimed particularly at women from disadvantaged communities around the UK, the programme has been delivered through local government agencies, training companies and charities. In 2009, she launched the SEED Community Site, a social networking website to connect women entrepreneurs around the world. She was a member of the advisory board for

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

in the UK, helping to initiate their Women's Leadership Development Programme and worked with Regus to create and develop the ''B.Hive'' network of women's business clubs.

V-Day campaign

Franks was the chair of V-Day UK, a charity created by Eve Ensler, which campaigns to end violence against women and girls. In March 2009, Franks organised a Women of Influence Lunch at the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, to draw attention to the campaign. The following November, Franks organised the Great Congo Demonstration at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

calling for an end to the systemic sexual violence against women in the region.

Books

In 1997, Franks published her autobiography, ''Absolutely Now!: A Futurist's Journey to Her Inner Truth,''Donnally, Trish
"Absolutely Enlightened"
'' San Francisco Chronicle'', California, 23 July 1998. Retrieved 2 June 2010 describing Franks' emotional and spiritual journey since leaving the world of PR, including her spiritual experiences at locations such as the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland and the Esalen Institute in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and her ideas on

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, environmental issues and ethical business practices. In 2000, Franks published the principles for SEED (Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics) in''The SEED Handbook: The Feminine Way to Create Business.'' Franks later published ''Grow: The Modern Woman's Handbook'' and ''Bloom: A Woman's Journal for Inspired Living.''

Popular culture

It has been claimed that the character Edina Monsoon in the British sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'', created by Jennifer Saunders, a former client of Franks, was intended to be a satirised version of Franks during this period. The claim had been denied by both Franks and Saunders. However, in March 2025, Franks acknowledged on her own website that "her crazy lifestyle was the inspiration for the character Edina Monsoon when her friend and client Jennifer Saunders came up with Absolutely Fabulous although, insists that her real life at this time was even more bizarre! Lynne also represented Edina's favourite store, Harvey Nichols."

Personal life

Franks met her husband, Paul Howie, an Australian fashion buyer and designer, while writing and editing the Freemans clothing stores in-house publications. In July 2011, Franks was awarded an honorary

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

in recognition of her career achievements in business and the media.

Notes

References

*O'Byrne, Robert (2009). ''Style City: How London Became a Fashion Capital'', Frances Lincoln Ltd, UK. *Europa Publications (2004). ''The International Who's Who 2004'', Routledge, UK. *Fraser, Kennedy (1981). ''The fashionable mind: reflections on fashion, 1970–1981'', Knopf, USA. *Franks, Lynne (1997). ''Absolutely Now!: A Futurist's Journey to Her Inner Truth'', Woodstock, Overlook Press.

External links

Lynne Franks' personal website
*
The SEED NetworkThe SEED Community SiteV-Day UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Lynne 1948 births Living people English Jews British women's rights activists British public relations people Officers of the Order of the British Empire