"Thanks!" to both inthe know (in this post), and mathteacher (in this post), who shared the following news with us.Marissa Web has resigned from her position
as J.Crew's Head of Women's Design.
as J.Crew's Head of Women's Design.
This is surprising news. Especially since she was such an important part of J.Crew's presentation at Fashion Week just this Tuesday! (Refer to the "Video of J.Crew at New York Fashion Week" and "J.Crew Works Fashion Week {part 2}" posts.)
She will be terribly missed. :( Even though she has been with J.Crew for a relatively short time (well compared to Frank Muytjens and Jenna Lyons), she has done an amazing job. Since she took over the direction of the Women's Collection, there has been a noticeable change (for the better). The crazy, over the top, layering was traded in for a more sophisticated look. We saw fewer ruffles and sequins and the return of a rich color palette. Dare I say it, I will... she brought back "classics with an updated twist". (Sorry ladies, I had to use the phrase at least once!)
I personally wish Marissa Webb all the best in her next endeavor. I know she will succeed at whatever new role she decides to pursue.
Lastly, I want to add my two cents to ask the following of J.Crew: Since Marissa will be leaving such an important role vacant, please consider having Frank Muytjens take over. I know he has a lot on his plate as J.Crew's Men's Wear Designer. However, I am fully confident in his ability to take on both positions. :)
Are you surprised to hear that Marissa Webb stepped down from her role at J.Crew? Do you think you will notice a change now that she has left the company?
*Video from Lucky Magazine's "Style Sound Bite: Marissa Webb of J.Crew" post
THIS IS AWFULLY SAD NEWS. I think it's a huge loss for J Crew. I agree with you Alexis . She's such an inspiration. I had the pleasure of meeting her once and She was very humble and sweet and obviously very talented. Best of luck Marissa and I can't wait to see where she pops up.
ReplyDeleteOh NOOOO!!! I'm so sad to hear that Marissa's gone, just when I was starting to fall in love with J Crew again -- the clean sophisticated lines, wear-forever classics with a hip edginess to the piece, the bright clear colors. So sad. I wonder why, and wonder where she's going and hope I can afford the clothing line where she'll be designing next!
ReplyDeleteFunny, my word verification is "anthr"
I Saw the hint last night and I have been dyin to know since then! I'm a Marissa fan. I'll be waiting to see her come back. But I too know she'll be missed at the crew. WHY? I can only speculate but I think She'll move to something bigger. I will be looking out for her. Its interesting she decided to leave right after a great show and so much credit goes to her.
ReplyDeleteShocking. She only worked on two collections since being promoted to head women's designer. Why the sudden change? Maybe its not generating enough revenue for the company? Feeling pressured? I wish her the best! Whose going to take over now?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty new to the JCA community, but I will say that one of the reasons I decided to check in with you all was because I really loved the looks in this and last season's J. Crew catalogs - loved them in a way that I haven't loved J. Crew in a long time. I'm so sad to hear that the person responsible for inspiring my renewed interest in J. Crew's offerings is leaving. Hopefully, her successor will be equally good at the job.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it weird though that she was so central this past week with introducing the JCrew Spring line? If they knew she was leaving, why would they have chosen to use her use?
ReplyDeleteI have the same thoughts Alexis and pathos, she was so central to fashion week, why step down the weekend after? Maybe she got a terrific offer somewhere else?
ReplyDeleteI love the collection this fall and the colors of the spring line are really fun. Much of it is not for me but I loved a couple of the dresses and the pretty clutch handbags.
It will be very interesting to see who takes her place. I like your thought Alexis about Frank taking over the women's line as well, he's certainly been doing a great job with menswear.
Most distressing. Always thought Marissa had real talent and imagination - as opposed to a collection of eccentricities. Wishing her the best.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I admire Marissa's styling ideas! I wonder if she got a better job offer somewhere else, maybe at a large fashion house. But I could also see a company like GAP courting her to revive the brand.
ReplyDeleteThe Spring lookbook included some classic, feminine, and fun pieces. I wonder if the styling will change for Fall 2012.
It couldn't be easy following and working under Jenna. Who knows what happened. A better job offer would be wonderful for her. Although sometimes someone "resigns" rather than be let go. It will be interesting to see where she turns up next!
ReplyDeleteWHOOOOAAAAAAAA!!! No WAY!
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that someone made her an offer she couldn't refuse. But who? LEC? Ann Taylor? Certainly she signed a noncompete, so it will be interesting to see how this pans out.
I wonder if Jenna didn't like all the press love Marissa was getting. Hmmm.
the women's design department is always in flux...but Tom Mora is the new head of women's design, and he is also still head of bridal and special occasion. Not a fan of his work but who knows what JCrew has up its sleeve. I think Marissa will be very much missed and something awfully fabulous must have come along, like an offer she couldn't refuse given Jcrew's at the height of popularity right now. She was very highly regarded and highly visible in her role at Jcrew so - who knows what lured her away...
ReplyDeleteWow, this is shocking! I wish Ms. Webb the best of luck. If anyone knows where she moved on to I'm dying to know -- I am very interested to see what she does next.
ReplyDeleteWhaaaat???? This is really sad news. She has done such great work with the women's collection. I wonder where she is headed to next? I wish her the best... I just hope whoever takes over for her at J. Crew doesn't decide to do a massive U-turn and start doing the short skirts and ruffles again.
ReplyDeleteUm, I think I suggested that she was to good to associate herself with a brand with such poor regard for quality. Good for her. My true guess is that JC was trying to stifle her creativity. I know many of you were not fans of her former shoe collections, but I have more of those shoes than I would care to admit and this season, one pair. Best wishes Marissa!
ReplyDeleteOT, I have to say I don't know what is going on with the "Anthroholic" blog, but it is important to remember that a single person can be highly influenced by a group including a group of bloggers and that is what accounts for a mob mentality. I hope everyone reading these blogs can take a step back and put themselves in check if they feel they are being overly influenced by a group of peers, even if it is a group of fabulous JCA's. Maybe someone needs to start "Blogaholics Anonymous".
ReplyDeleteHer linkedin profile still has J.Crew information and she posted J.Crew updates today from Vogue.com. I wonder what she will do next.
ReplyDeletehuge loss for j crew. the collections have looked wearable but cool. loved what she did. as far as if we';ll see a change in the line since her departure - i've worked in the industry - her sensibility will be there for probably another year. collcetions are designed very early. and knowing some people at j crew - she has finished the collection through summer 2012 and i believe fall 2012. If they continue to build off of what she has created, j crew will still have her aestitc for a while longer. After that.....who knows. And frank - Great taste for mens but he's very "manly" cant imagine him understanding how to design a womens shoe or playing with shiny stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think Talbots just got rid of their Head Designer...they took a huge hit in revenue last quarter. Any change she would be wooed by them??
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ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting about Talbots. Their old stuff wasn't selling so they tried to go more fashion forward, but that stuff is not selling either. Kind of a conundrum for them as to what to do next. I think they alienated their older customers but were still having trouble capturing the younger customers. I (31 yr old) still had a really hard time finding anything there I liked after they tried to go younger.
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ReplyDeleteREW PROMOTES MORA: J. Crew has promoted Tom Mora to vice president of women’s design, succeeding Marissa Webb, who will be leaving “to pursue other opportunities,” the company said Friday. Mora will also continue to oversee wedding and special occasion design; he has been the vice president over those categories since 2009. Previously, he was head of wovens and accessories, and has been working at J. Crew for 10 years.
Cass,
ReplyDeleteI think the big problem with Talbots was too much change too soon which alienated long-time customers and the odd and sometimes sized-out fit for new customers. Talbots definitely caught my attention with their new styling and in a lot of cases I've felt the quality is better than J. Crew's current quality BUT I've never purchased a thing from them other than a silk scarf because their fit is off. The company has a lot of potential because of design and quality but they need to listen to their core customers and re-focus on catering to their needs while improving their fit to court new ones.