Referencing {FAQ}

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

J.Crew's Creative Director Jenna Lyons

A big "thanks!" to Anonymous at 4:39 PM in the "Mickey Drexler = AWESOME!" post who shared with us the following two links about Jenna Lyons, J.Crew's Creative Director, and her recent coverage in InStyle Magazine (the May 2008 Issue): Page 1 and Page 2.

There is also a great article about her which I selected portions of below. (For the article in its entirety, click here.)

The Designers Behind J. Crew
By Marc Karimzadeh
April 06, 2005

J. Crew’s current bestseller is a pair of jeweled sandals for $190. “One-hundred and ninety dollars,” gushed Jenna Lyons, the retailer’s senior vice president of women’s design, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis. “We never would have given the real estate to a $200 sandal before. The customer has been ready for it, but J. Crew just hasn’t been there for her. We didn’t know if we could sell it. And that is what’s been great about Mickey [Drexler, J. Crew’s chairman and chief executive officer]. He’s been pushing us to push the envelope.” ...

Where some incoming executives would have come in with an ax and cleared out the existing design team, Drexler relied on Lyons, a J. Crew veteran who has been with the brand for 15 years, to oversee the design makeover.

Lyons is a downtown type who appears a little disheveled, but in a studied way. She mixes and matches new pieces with vintage ones that are a little frayed around the edges. On this day, for instance, she wears torn faded jeans adorned with pins she must have used while tweaking a sample. In many ways, she is the perfect incarnation of the J. Crew woman for whom she designs. “I like things that get better with age,” she said. “We have always focused on something that is going to look good even after you have had it a little bit. Maybe it is frayed a little on the edges, maybe it is starting to wash down a little too much. I actually think that that looks good. That, to me, is classic.”

Lyons joined J. Crew’s women’s design department as an assistant after studying at Parsons School of Design and interning at Donna Karan. At J. Crew, she worked closely with original founder and then-president Emily Woods, and in her years at the company worked in several different departments, learning about accessories, apparel and denim. That, she said, is very helpful now that she oversees the design of all women’s products.

Lyons credited J. Crew’s renewed energy and focus to Drexler’s and Pfeifle’s management style. “The company had been more merchandising-driven over the past few years,” she said. “Now, it is the complete opposite. Design is really where everything starts, and that’s what we go back to when we talk about the floor, the colors for the walls. It all goes back to the original inspiration as opposed to it being a directive of the merchandising side." ...

What do you think of Jenna Lyons? Do you think she is visionary genius when it comes to clothes (like I do)?

29 comments:

  1. Thanks to Anonymous, and thanks, Alexis for reposting! I love her outfit and seeing bits of her office environment. :)

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  2. Sweetmint: I agree that those links from Anonymous are great. It is always interesting to see the folks who make the decisions for J.Crew's creative direction. :)

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  3. P.S. Sweetmint- I am totally loving your image of the J.Crew catalog cover!!! LOVE IT! :)

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  4. You can tell she designs for her body type, she looks just ike a crew model!

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  5. GirlieGirl: I didn't want to say anything- but I thought she is gorgeous too! I thought, "ah geez, even those working at J.Crew Corporate look like they are part of a catalog"! ;)

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  6. J. Crew has an office in the same building as one of my clients and every time that I'm there I get jealous of all the stylish people headed up to that floor. What a fantastic job! One thing though, when she says that items "get a little too washed down," is she referring to the holes that are bound to happen after a few weeks with most of the Crew's knits :)

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  7. I think she is pretty awesome. One of my good friends worked very closely with her and loved every second of it. So I know on a first hand basis she is pretty cool.

    I just wish she would have more of the cotton-cashmere blend for women (its the best part fo the mens line IMO). They had one sweater of it this year and it was hideously ugly. I hope they will make it for this winter though... that would be fabulous!

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  8. She's so chic. Alexis you pick the best images for the threads. Nice. I'm a newer customer, but I have looked at the catalogs for years. It is great to see them push past safe boundaries.

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  9. HA! That's so funny. I uploaded this for a post I did on my blog. I'm totally obsessed. She is chic and smart!

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  10. Dawn: That is so cool- to actually see some of the people who are selecting the clothes we are wearing. I would probably be tempted to accidently get lost and visit their offices during my lunch break if I worked there. ;)

    Blumre: I am so jealous of your friend who has worked with her! Its great to hear that she is great in person too.

    Gigiofca: She does look great in those photos! I would love to have her closet. :)

    Muffy: I think you described her style pretty well: chic & smart! :)

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  11. Wouldn't you love to have her closet? I love her too, she seems so down to earth, yet fashionable and savvy. The perfect jcrew aficionada, like all of us :)

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  12. jinx alexis, I just read your comment!!

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  13. Caw: Too funny! Well, great Aficionada minds think alike. ;)

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  14. ah yes, and all of our closets are seemingly alike as well...

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  15. She's obviously a 30 something and looks great in J.Crew clothing...now if they would just put 30-40 somethings in the catalogs...that would be so great!

    alexis and caw: I would absolutely LOVE to have her closet! Actually, I bet she has more than one closet, or at least one REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HUGE closet! :)

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  16. seriously, if I were her, I would probably get one of every item in every color. I could have all the double strand necklaces in the world. All cashmere in all colors. Maybe I would tire of it? I don't know..... There are few things I can actually say I HATE from jcrew..ohmygod, I really am jealous. I am probably going to have a dream about this, is that completely nuts????

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  17. Did you see she has a son named Beckett? What a great name!

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  18. Here is the link to the post I did featuring the article: http://muffymartini.blogspot.com/2008/06/creepy-stalker-muffy-presents.html

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  19. Muffy, I know this sounds stalker-ish perhaps, but your blog is another of my favorites! It's nice to see you're also a j. crew aficionada!

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  20. FFM: I too would like to see 30-40ish models in the catalogs. I really do think (based on the women and men I associate with) that many people who purchase from J Crew are in that age category. I feel too that many of us buy from J Crew because it really does transcend the "age barrier". I know that I personally have spent huge amounts of $$$ since Mr. Drexler took over and had the clothing designed to look good on anyone who has the desire to dress well and look fashionable age not withstanding. :)

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  21. Caw: I wouldn't be surprised if we all had the same closets! ;)

    FFM & Caw: Her closet is actually pretty awesome. There is a picture of it here if you are interested in seeing it. :)

    Molly: I like the name Beckett too! :)

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  22. alexis: Thanks for the pic of her closet...that's ALOT of clothes...lucky, lucky, lucky woman...

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  23. that is a funny pic, I love how it's sort of a non closet actually but part of their decor! I may need to do that, I think I am running out of closet space!

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  24. Gigiofca: I just saw your congratulations in the previous post - thanks!! :) I did treat myself to a full price item (which I *never* do). I'm going to wear it to my celebration party. :)

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  25. I absolutely LOVE the direction that J.Crew is going in -- still a lot of classic pieces that are going to look great a few years (or more!) down the road, but they're still fashion-forward and not at all boring.

    Dawn -- that would be such a fabulous job. No excuse for not looking great at work, though :)

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  26. Since the Cashmere Martine cardi is no longer available in the Light Hibiscus color, and if Jenna is reading this, what would you wear with the Heather Graphite Martine? I am getting ready to order it, and just wanted to know!

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  27. Thank you so much for the great articles, Alexis! It's always fun to read about the people behind J.Crew. (I especially enjoyed the one about her apartment!) Jenna Lyons has done a fantastic job bringing the company up to a higher level. I would seriously do anything to work for her!

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  28. i loved reading the article about jenna's place! she and her husband's whole aesthetic and style is, of course, fantastic. i cannot wait to see what the next outpouring of fall j crew clothes will be like!!

    alexis: thanks for appreciating my catalog cover photo! the j crew christmas catalogs are just about my favorite. :)

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  29. Here's a great article about Jenna from last November's Harpers Bazaar. It starts on page 23 once all the images load.
    http://www.afashionablelifemag.com/

    and pictures from her wedding:
    http://nymag.com/shopping/guides/weddings/2003/album/jennavincent.htm

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