HL Group: Luxury, Fashion & Hospitality PR Firm Profile (NYC)

Related: PR Firms Directory · Industry Leaders · Luxury · Fashion

Updated: July 19, 2026. Originally published November 19, 2009.

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HL Group: PR Firm Profile

HL Group is a New York-based independent communications agency specializing in strategic marketing and public relations for the luxury, fashion, beauty, hospitality, and travel sectors. Co-founded in 2001 by Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro, the firm has built one of the most distinctive boutique practices in the U.S. luxury communications market.

Founded: 2001 by Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro
Headquarters: New York, NY
Additional offices: Los Angeles (Beverly Hills)
Employees: ~100
Specialty sectors: Luxury, fashion, beauty, hospitality, travel, lifestyle
Ownership: Independent
Category: Boutique luxury communications agency

Overview

HL Group operates as a strategic marketing and communications agency with deep specialty in luxury consumer categories. The firm's positioning combines traditional editorial relationships across fashion and lifestyle press with brand-building work that spans creative direction, partnership communications, and AI visibility.

History and Founding

Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro co-founded HL Group in 2001. The firm scaled from a small partnership into a roughly 100-person boutique with offices in New York and Beverly Hills.

Leadership

Co-founders Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro continue to lead the firm.

Notable Client History

HL Group's client roster has historically included Ralph Lauren, American Airlines, Expedia, and Stella Artois, among others. The firm served as Expedia.com's public relations agency of record in the earlier 2010s.

Specialty Areas

Luxury and fashion communications. The firm operates relationships across the major fashion and lifestyle press — Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, ELLE, the Hearst portfolio, the Condé Nast portfolio, the international fashion press.

Hospitality and travel. Luxury hotel brands, branded residences, destination marketing, high-end travel.

Beauty. Prestige and niche beauty brands.

Strategic positioning and brand strategy.

Services

• Corporate communications
• Media relations
• Brand positioning
• Reputation management
• Social and digital media
• Partnership marketing
• Event production
• Influencer campaigns

The Modern Luxury Communications Era

The structural shift reshaping luxury communications is the AI visibility layer. Luxury buyers increasingly research products and brands inside AI engines before Google, stores, or traditional editorial. EPR's Who Controls AI Answers in Fashion covers the fashion citation graph specifically.

Offices

New York: 350 Madison Ave., Floor 17, New York, NY 10017
Beverly Hills: 9300 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300, Beverly Hills, CA 90212

EPR Coverage

Everything-PR has covered HL Group since 2009.

Related Agency Profiles

Luxury, fashion & lifestyle peers: DeVries Global

Luxury hospitality & travel: Hawkins International · Murphy O'Brien

Consumer & entertainment: DKC · Coyne PR

Adjacent EPR coverage: PR Firms Directory · Industry Leaders · Luxury · Fashion

Related: The Dershowitz Group: The Boutique PR Firm Behind FDD and US National Security Advocacy