Another Look at J.Crew's Jenna Lyons

There is an interesting article from the Los Angeles Times (click here) about J.Crew's Jenna Lyons. **The author really likes Jenna as she has written about her before (refer to this post, which this article is based on)– and I don't blame her! ;)

Jenna Lyons: the woman who took J.Crew from plain Jane to designer look
By Booth Moore
August 31, 2009
Updated on September 1, 2009

It all started with the yellow outfit — the Pembridge dot pencil skirt, the Italian deco tank and the color-block cardigan. Michelle Obama wore them for an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" in October, revealing that she had purchased the items online from J.Crew.

The skirt, the shirt, the sweater — all sold out in a matter of days. It happened again in April when the first lady chose the crystal constellation cardigan and dazzling dots pencil skirt for a visit to 10 Downing St. in London. The sweater sold out by 10 a.m. East Coast time. "Michelle Obama is the best thing that ever happened to J.Crew," the New York Daily News announced.

But industry experts and fans of the label's $88 pencil skirts and $78 beaded cardigans might nominate another candidate: Jenna Lyons.

Lyons is creative director for what has become the go-to brand among women who demand designer style ("custom tailored accents," one fashion blogger noted) without designer prices. That title means she's in charge of every design element of the company, Web site and catalog, and it's her attention to detail — delicate beading, raw edges, crepe de Chine ruffles — that sets J.Crew apart from other mall stores. The company's ability to be both aspirational and attainable has made it popular with Indianapolis career women and Birkin-toting Malibu trophy wives alike.

Lyons "is my fashion guru," says Harpo Films President Kate Forte, who first contacted Lyons to help her select an outfit for the "Cadillac Records" movie premiere last year. "I was wearing Alexander McQueen, Chloe and Stella McCartney and spending tons and tons of money on it," Forte says. "Then last summer, I thought, 'This is ridiculous.' "I have worn J.Crew to movie premieres and industry breakfasts, and I still get the same compliments that I used to."

Despite the retail rut, under Lyons' creative direction the company has continued to expand. Some of fashion's biggest names have noticed. Derek Lam, the New York designer of opulent fur coats and delicate silk dresses and a classmate of Lyons' at New York's Parsons the New School for Design, understands her appeal. "Jenna brings a fashion editor's eye to an accessible brand," he says.

Lyons, the daughter of an insurance agent father and a stay-at-home mother, grew up in Palos Verdes. Even then, her own aesthetic was well-suited to J.Crew's business of basics with a twist.

"I was a school uniform rebel," she says, sporting her signature masculine-feminine look with a man's blazer, cropped pants, thick black eyeglasses and a tangle of glittery necklaces. "I used to shorten my skirts way too much and alter my shirts to make them really tight. I would shorten the sleeves on my blazer and put cute buttons on my cashmere sweaters."

Lyons spent summers working as a lifeguard and shopping on L.A.'s trendy Melrose Avenue. She frequented stores such as Circle Jerks and Black Fly, removing buttons and notions and sewing them onto other pieces. She also ordered clothes from J.Crew.

After high school, she enrolled in a fashion program at Otis Parsons in L.A., transferring to the New York campus for her sophomore year. Her first job after graduation was as a design assistant at Donna Karan, but Lyons found it frustrating because she and her friends could not afford the clothes.

In 1990, at age 21, she interviewed at J.Crew, which seven years earlier had launched as a mail-order business focusing on preppy clothes.

"When I took the job (as a men's knitwear designer), I forgot to ask what the salary was because I was so excited."

But even after she switched to designing women's garments, she didn't want to wear most of the clothes in those early years. It was, she said, about selling, not about fashion.

After a private equity firm bought a majority stake in the company in 1997, J.Crew went through three chief executives in five years. A new chapter began when Millard "Mickey" Drexler, newly ousted from the Gap, arrived as chairman and chief executive in January 2003.

The night before Drexler started in 2003, Lyons stayed up late researching him online. "I had just done a complete redo of the line six months before, and I knew I was going to have to do it all over again — if I still had a job."

The next morning, he held a meeting with the company's senior merchants, designers and stylists to go through the fall collection piece by piece.

"Do you love it or hate it?" he asked Lyons, who was the head of women's design reporting to another creative director at the time. "It does $1 million, but I hate it," she said of a pair of run-of-the-mill stretch pants. "Then throw them on the floor," he replied. The same thing happened with a "poodle" yarn turtleneck, a stiff leather jacket and other items.

Drexler then fired all of the senior level designers except for two, promoted Lyons and charged her with filling in the holes in the collection.

Gayle Spannaus, J.Crew's head women's stylist, who styles all the catalog shoots, remembers that Drexler loved the outfit Lyons was wearing that day — high heels and cargo pants.

"He asked her, 'Why don't you design what you're wearing?' "

The change was quick. J.Crew went from basic rugbys, drab workaday trouser skirts and silk shells to Liberty of London floral-print button-down shirts and silk Jacquard dresses "woven in the same style as the French haute couture."

Although she supervises a team of 25 women's and 15 men's designers, Lyons ultimately must approve thousands of pieces a year. She also oversees the catalog, Web site and store design.

Lyons is passionate about fashion, and not just J.Crew. One senses sometimes that she wishes she were designing loftier things. No doubt that is why J.Crew launched its higher-priced Collection pieces such as $3,000 tortoise-colored sequin jackets ("I bought it, and I paid full price," the designer says), a $495 silk dupioni rosette dress and $395 snakeskin flats. Lyons is also working on expanding the company's bridal wear, perhaps even opening bridal boutiques.

I really enjoyed reading this article. It's always fun to learn more about Jenna Lyons and her rise at J.Crew. I can totally picture her wearing high heels with cargo pants too! Jenna has a unique style that totally works for her. :)

What are your thoughts on the article? Are there any pieces of information or quotes that are particularly interesting or revealing? :)