Insider: Jesse Parker Stowell

name: Jesse Parker Stowell

occupation: Senior Account Executive at Full Picture (Entertainment Publicist for lifestyle brands like VitaminWater, Victoria's Secret and the Entertainment Industry Foundation)

hometown: Lansing, Michigan

homebase: Just moved into a new loft in downtown Brooklyn

3 fashion week survival tips for the newcomer:  I have always been a fan of the martini, but try to moderate the alcohol intake.  Swilling champagne until 4am seems like fun until you're nauseas in a hot room packed with bright-eyed models and fashion editors at 10am. Plus there's calories in champagne no matter what anyone says.  To prep myself for the day, I drink a Powerade Zero (no calories) to give me energy throughout the day. 

Plan ahead.  There's nothing worse than waking up on the first day of fashion week and remembering all your clothes are at the drycleaner or needs to be laundered and showing up at a show wearing cut-off shorts and a tee shirt you got in a gift bag.  (This has never happened to me by the way)

Choose parties and events based on their proximity to one another.  If the underground designer is throwing a loft party in the Lower East Side, you probably won't make it to the Barney's uptown soiree.  

best pizza slice in Manhattan: I went to college uptown at Columbia and the best pizza is from Koronet's near campus on Broadway between 110th and 111th Streets.  The slice (or piece as we say in Michigan) is huge and you can have them add broccoli for $1.  

what are 3 things needed to be a good publicist? You have to be tough skinned and persistent.  "No," whether from a journalist or a celebrity is sometimes not an option, so a lot of work is convincing someone that you know what's best for them and good for your client. 

You've got to notice details.  Recognizing faces, editing copy, negotiating a media exclusive, everything involves lots and lots of details and if one goes unnoticed, it could blow up in your face.  Last, a fully functioning liver. 

most memorable event you attended this year? I've been to some really great events in the last 6 years so it takes a lot to impress me.  I must say the Veuve Cliquot Polo match on Governor's Island was quite the experience as was the Hugo Boss party in the Financial District (all black furniture, black lights, great DJ), but the best this year was the Malibu Party thrown for the 40th birthday of the Big Mac.  It's hard to make a fast food brand like McDonalds cool, but having Ne-yo perform for a group of 50 sitting around a pool eating Big Macs turned burgers into Beluga caviar.  

how much sleep do you get during the week of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show? 

About an hour a night.  It is astounding how much work goes into the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show as there are hundreds of photo ops and interviews the days leading up to the big event.  The day of the show we start at 8am and work through the show and after-party and after-after-party.  Then we let loose with the staff after-after-after-party (which will be astounding this year with the show being in Miami).  Then you wake up and do it all over again at 8am, following up with the press and flying back to New York City. 

best dinner and late-night spots in Manhattan? I am still in love with Buddakan, Chef Symensma changes up the menu, but always keeps my favorite Edamame Dumplings.  Late night I'm usually in the East Village at some hole in the wall or during the summer at a rooftop bar like A60 or the Empire Hotel. 

most overused word in the industry: "Amazing."  I'm guilty of this too, so for 2009 I will start using "Astounding." 

iPhone or Blackberry? The iPhone is very pretty (and usually I always vote pretty over practicality), but for function's sake it's Blackberry.  If you ever see me without mine, check hell for ice.