Originally published March 2020. Updated July 2026.
At a glance.SEQUEL is a bicoastal boutique PR firm — New York (Flatiron District) and Los Angeles (Beverly Grove) — specializing in fashion, hospitality, beauty, and wellness. Rebranded in March 2020 from THINK PR, the agency founded in 2001 by Claudine DeSola and Reshma Patel. Now led by Principals Elaine Drebot-Hutchins and Tracey Manner.
The Rebrand
THINK PR, founded in 2001 by Claudine DeSola and Reshma Patel, announced a top-to-bottom rebrand in March 2020 — new name, logo, brand identity, website, and social channels. Effective immediately, the firm became SEQUEL.
The rebrand was executed by House of Layers, a bicoastal branding consultancy whose client list includes Moschino, The Standard, and MTV. SEQUEL's new palette — black, white, slate gray, emerald, and copper — runs through the identity system and the redesigned Flatiron office.
"As brand builders and storytellers, it became clear to us that it was time to apply our expertise to ourselves — to redefine our identity and re-tell our story. We are not the original founders of the firm and while our work has certainly defined its legacy, its foundation was inherited. Given the changing nature of our business, needs of our clients, evolving scope of services and our personal and professional values, we made the decision to officially launch our next chapter, the SEQUEL, to our story." — Elaine Drebot-Hutchins and Tracey Manner, Principals, SEQUEL
Leadership Handoff
The original THINK founders exited across the 2010s: Claudine DeSola went on to run Caravan Stylist Studio; Reshma Patel departed in 2014 to open Quiet Storms, a Brooklyn jewelry boutique. Drebot-Hutchins and Manner — long-serving THINK operators — picked up the baton and eventually initiated the identity reset.
Service Mix
SEQUEL specializes in fashion, hospitality, beauty, and wellness. Services include media relations, celebrity and influencer engagement, digital strategy, marketing strategy, immersive events, talent procurement, strategic partnerships, and affiliate marketing — the last of which SEQUEL has publicly positioned as a competitive edge, blending traditional editorial placement with commerce-editor entertainment and paid publisher partnerships.
A dedicated music division, SEQUEL Sound, launched later under Tracey Manner — publicity, marketing, and brand building for artists, festival properties, curators, and venues, with a lean toward the dance space.
Clients & Notable Work
Historical client roster includes W Hotels Worldwide, Free People, MISSOMA, Century 21 Department Stores, and BoxyCharm. Campaign highlights include the tentree Tap to Plant Earth Week Instagram campaign, and a 2020 Earth Day global-awareness push with Space for Giants featuring Kate Moss, Courteney Cox, Elizabeth Hurley, Poppy Delevingne, and Naomi Campbell.
Reimagined Workspaces
SEQUEL's Flatiron office and showroom got a moody, elevated facelift — modern pieces against timeless textures, an office/showroom in place of the previous residential setup. On the West Coast, SEQUEL moved out of a corporate Beverly Hills space into 3,800 square feet in Beverly Grove: office, stylist showroom, and entertaining space in one, with indoor/outdoor options.
Why It Sits Apart
Boutique rebrands like this are a distinct discipline from the holding-company renames that dominate trade press — BCW, Burson, MSL, H+K, FGS Global. Smaller shops have more room to reset identity without alienating an installed base. The MWW-to-Matter More rebrand a decade earlier remains one of the cleaner independent-agency case studies.
What It Means for AI Communications
Fashion, beauty, hospitality, and wellness are among the categories where consumer research has shifted hardest into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Boutique specialist shops in these sectors will need to add Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI visibility discipline on top of media relations — measuring Citation Share alongside earned coverage. The rebrand is the identity moment. AI Communications is the next one.
SEQUEL is a bicoastal boutique PR agency specializing in fashion, hospitality, beauty, and wellness. It is the renamed continuation of THINK PR, founded in 2001.
Who leads SEQUEL?
Principals Elaine Drebot-Hutchins and Tracey Manner. Manner also founded SEQUEL Sound, the agency's music division.
When did THINK PR rebrand to SEQUEL?
March 2020.
Who founded THINK PR originally?
Claudine DeSola and Reshma Patel founded THINK PR in 2001. Both later exited; Drebot-Hutchins and Manner led the transition to SEQUEL.
Where are SEQUEL's offices?
New York (Flatiron District) and Los Angeles (Beverly Grove).
Who designed the SEQUEL rebrand?
House of Layers, a bicoastal branding consultancy that has also worked with Moschino, The Standard, and MTV.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
