Lifestyle Mirror

I have the biggest style crush on Jenna Lyons (thanks to Google, I know I am not alone!) So when I was given the opportunity to visit the brand’s headquarters in New York ahead of their Asian launch—it’s now available exclusively at Lane Crawford—I jumped at the chance.

While J. Crew today is the embodiment of all that is hip and cool, with its chic prints, edgy collaborations, and neon-colored cashmere and jewels, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, it was the dream team of Lyons and CEO Mickey Drexler that took the brand from plain vanilla to a triple-decker sundae (in Lyons’ own words).

As the brand’s bastion of style, Jenna is considered a legend in fashion circles and is frequently compared to doyennes such as Anna Wintour. Her achingly hip personal style—think masculine yet feminine, formal yet informal, high yet low—can be seen on every page of the brand’s catalogue or style guide. Such is her allure that even Oprah demanded a personal tour of her closet.

One of the most refreshing things about Jenna is that she is approachable and relatable. Over the course of two days she revealed herself to be a total girl’s girl. She loves to chat and scour YouTube for silly videos—at that time it was a spoof of Beyoncé’s “Countdown” video by an Asian boy wearing a Snuggie. She is fiercely devoted to her colleagues (and son) and loves to laugh—most of the time at herself.

On the days that we met, she looked fantastic whether she was wearing sequins at 9 a.m. or a men’s shirt buttoned down to her navel. Every look was finished with a pair of sky-high heels despite the fact that she’s already six foot tall. “I don’t do flats—or wedges for that matter,” she said.

So to commemorate her visit to Hong Kong this week, I present eight things I never knew about Jenna Lyons. —Divia Harilela @dharilela

1. She has been collecting Vogue magazine since she was 14…

“I still have most of them and usually keep them in piles around my office. As a teenager growing up the sleepy town of Palos Verdes [in California] I had no access to fashion so it became my Bible—I memorized every price, every makeup and hair stylist, every model. It was my little small world and such positive reinforcement for me.”

2. She’s been at J. Crew for over 20 years but what really inspired her was the arrival of Mickey Drexler…

“It makes you fall in love all over again with the clothes. I have learned so much from him especially to trust my instincts. He’s not about numbers or charts, he goes on gut, and I have made better decisions when I’ve owned that decision.”

3. She’s not a fan of the word “preppy”…

“I see J. Crew as inclusionary so I don’t like things that are exclusionary. I think preppy implies that you grew up on the East Coast and had a boat and golden retriever. There’s nothing wrong with that but there are a lot of people who didn’t grow up that way. I grew up in California, wasn’t preppy, and loved J. Crew. To me what’s more interesting is this idea of the classic imbued with menswear. For us, there’s always an element of menswear anywhere with womenswear.”

4. She’s considers herself more of an editor than a designer…

“Because the clothes are simple—a t-shirt and pencil skirt are not necessarily revolutionary—the styling becomes so integral and important. That to me is a way to show and continually update and change your vision on everything from a cashmere sweater to a skirt. That being said, my personal style and J. Crew are not mutually exclusive. I don’t sit down and design the collections anymore but at the same time it’s like Calvin Klein. He’s no longer there but even still the product looks like what he would design. There’s an ethos of the brand that has been established.”

5. If she weren’t a designer she would be a horse trainer…

“I love horses. I rode when I was young so every time I see horses I get a tingle. My favorite part was braiding their hair.”

 6. She has style crushes too…

“Oh my god, there are so many. Solange Knowles is amazing. In the industry I like Caroline Issa and of course Anna Dello Russo. I met her at the Greenwich Hotel recently at 9 a.m. and there she was in seven-inch heels.”

 7. She is currently lusting after…

“From J. Crew’s fall collection I am all about the snakeskin skirt with a cashmere sweater. I also want the purse that matches. Other than that, anything from Joseph Altuzarra. I also have my eye on this crazy bag from Proenza Schouler but I may not be able to get it!”

8. She loves J. Crew because it means she gets to design for real people.

“For me it’s about being able to relate to everyone through fashion. Recently we were in Arizona and I walked into a room filled with a sea of people dressed in J. Crew. It felt really good. Everyone was colorful, happy, and bright. It felt good to be part of that many people’s lives in a meaningful way.”

Divia is the former fashion editor of Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post and an authority on Asia’s fashion and luxury world. She founded The D’Vine, Asia's leading luxury and fashion blog in April 2011.