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 Street 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 the brand that's become the go-to for 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, website 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. 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 -- including a new store in Malibu that features higher-end items produced in limited quantities -- and recently beat analysts' expectations for the first quarter by reporting a 2% uptick in sales over the same time last year. Though the company's profits fell 33%, the sales increase was enough to send stock shares up 18%.
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.
