WHO IS J.CREW?
J.Crew is the all American brand that’s making huge waves across the ocean. Sartorial muse and Creative Director Jenna Lyons has in recent years breathed new life into the brand, speaking to a new generation of fashion fans through a fresh, creative point of view. Her astute edits and irreverent style has seen J.Crew grow at an exponential rate. Now thanks to Lane Crawford, consumers in Asia can enjoy the vibrant but always wearable designs that J.Crew is renowned for.
JENNA LYONS
President & Creative Director
Jenna Lyons’ rise to fame is no coincidence. The J.Crew President and Creative Director worked her way up the corporate ladder since starting as a design assistant at the company nearly 20 years ago. Since then, her career has become what most girls can only dream of.
Growing up in Palos Verdes, California, Lyons moved to New York to attend the prestigious Parsons School of Design. She began her career at J.Crew in 1990 and was named Executive Creative Director in 2010. Fast-forward two years and it’s evident that Lyons has firmly placed her stamp on this once all American brand with girls around the world imitating her edgy yet accessible style. Noted for her six foot lean figure, her penchant for thick-framed spectacles, masculine tailoring and unabashed clashing of prints and textures, Lyons has become a star in her own right, bringing an aspirational face to the J.Crew brand.
TOM MORA
Head of Women's Design
Mora has a long history at J.Crew, having worked at the company for more then 10 years. In 2009 he took over as Head of Women’s Design and prior to that, he ran the Wedding and Special Occasion Design section as well as Women’s Woven’s and Accessories.
With a unique aesthetic and sophisticated eye, Tom lets us in on what inspired him to create the Autumn/Winter 2012 collection.
“I started off the season looking at books by Irving Penn. I’ve always felt a connection to his photographs because he made women look so elegant, classic, timeless and chic. He had this ability to balance beautiful with basic, and that’s really what we strive to do at J.Crew – mixing high and low, dressy and not dressy.”
FRANK MUYTJENS
Head of Men's Design
In 2008 J.Crew named Frank Muytjens as Head of Men’s Design, and from that moment forward, J.Crew Menswear changed. Repositioning the brand from what was considered an outdated catalogue brand, to a one-stop shop for everything essential to a trendy or traditional man’s wardrobe – Frank made J.Crew menswear cool. The Dutch designer tells us why a book he picked up in Brooklyn inspired the Autumn/Winter 2012 collection.
“ A portrait of the poet Edward James is what inspired the season. I found this book in a vintage shop in Brooklyn, with a picture of him on the cover, and he looked amazing: polished, clean, put together and sophisticated and that’s what this collection is about. It feels fresh in a palette that’s dark yet colourful, like city streets after an evening storm.”