A Model Guest: W Hotels Worldwide Names Joan Smalls First Global Fashion Innovator

NEW YORK, April 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- International cover girl. Campaign face. Television Host. Philanthropist. Now Joan Smalls can add executive to her resume. W Hotels Worldwide today officially announced the appointment of Joan Smalls as the iconic lifestyle brand's first ever Global Fashion Innovator, a newly created position in which the supermodel will help create, shape and innovate W's global fashion platform around the world. From special appearances and one-of-a-kind collaborations to exclusive in-room and digital content, Smalls will add her signature style and discerning taste to the W Hotel guest experience.

"I am thrilled to be named the first ever Global Fashion Innovator of W Hotels," says Joan Smalls. "It is a dream job of mine to be able to combine two of the things I love the most: travel and fashion. W Hotels - and their incredible line up of hotels around the world - is the perfect partner for such a collaboration. I'm excited to share my passions, tips and personal style with W guests."

Smalls' quietly announced her role at a private party to celebrate the launch of W Dubai in August. Since then, she has been working intimately with the W Hotels team on a series of initiatives that will roll out in 2017. Smalls is working on her insider guide to Goa, in which she will curate her favorite places and picks that will be shared with future W Goa guests - both in-room and online. In addition, she and W are collaborating on an exclusive item.  Exciting details on this and future projects will be revealed in the coming months. 

"We are excited to have someone with such a stylish, global point of view help shape our fashion story," says Anthony Ingham, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide.  "Be it our longstanding partnership with the CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} or our recent W Hotels Style Lab pop-up shop curated by Sarah Easley, W has a long history of celebrating fashion. Now, with Joan as our first ever Global Fashion Innovator, we are excited to work with someone whose personal passions for travel and fashion mirror our own." 

In addition to a product collaboration and several appearances at W Hotels around the world, Smalls will also have a regular presence on The Angle, W's buzzing digital platform that features the latest in fashion, music, design and FUEL (the brand's take on healthy living through spa, food and working out) as well as exhilarating local content from W destinations around the globe.

Since the brand's inception, W has been synonymous with fashion. Every W inspires personal style and sets the stage for guests to show up, show off and show stop.  From its longstanding partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America's {FASHION INCUBATOR} program featuring emerging designers, to exclusive collaborations with fashion legends like Jeremy Scott and Diane von Furstenberg, fashion is a consistent character in the W Hotels story. Today, W has hotels in nearly all major fashion capitals of the world – from London and Paris, to New York and Singapore – and its hotels are a constant source of inspiration for some of the world's most renowned and rising fashion talent. During any given season, you can find a trunk show, a presentation, or a small capsule collection debuting at a W Hotel around the world.

For more about Joan Smalls as the W brand's new Global Fashion Innovator, please visit whotels.com/theangle.

ABOUT W HOTELS WORLDWIDE
Born from the bold attitude and 24/7 culture of New York City, W Hotels has disrupted and redefined the hospitality scene for nearly two decades. Trailblazing its way around the globe, W is on track to reach 75 hotels by 2020, defying expectations and breaking the norms of traditional luxury wherever the iconic W sign lands. With a mission to fuel guests' lust for life, W ignites an obsessive desire to soak it in, live it up and hit repeat. The brand's provocative design, iconic Whatever/Whenever service and buzzing Living Rooms create an experience that is often copied but never matched. Innovative, inspiring and infectious, W Hotels' super-charged energy celebrates guests' endless appetite to discover what's new/next in each destination, to see more, feel more, go longer, stay later. 

W Hotels Worldwide participates in the industry's award-winning loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest®, where members can link accounts with Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® for instant elite status matching and unlimited points transfer.  For more information on W Hotels, visit whotels.com/theangle or follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

SOURCE W Hotels Worldwide