EXCLUSIVE: Shonda Rhimes Ushers in New Direction for St. John
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St. John is back, with 2022 revenues growing 17 percent year over year, according to financial results released Friday by parent Lanvin Group, and now a new spokesperson.
Hollywood creator Shonda Rhimes, the woman behind “Bridgerton,” “Scandal,” “Inventing Anna” and many more hits, features in the new “Own Your Power” spring campaign for the Southern California heritage luxury brand.
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“St. John is a brand that I’ve always loved and I’ve been wearing for years and years. One of the great things about the clothes is my mom can wear them in her style and it looks like her and I can wear it in my style and it looks completely different and like me,” Rhimes told WWD exclusively of the campaign that breaks Tuesday.
St. John has been with Rhimes for many of the important moments in her career; when she was on the cover of Time magazine in January 2022, she was wearing a black St. John turtleneck sweater with sculpted sleeves. “That made the brand reach out to us and see if we wanted to do this partnership. So it was pretty authentic and it’s important to me that I actually like and wear the clothes.”
She was also drawn to the history of the brand, which was founded in 1962 by Robert and Marie Gray in Irvine, California — although it must be said it has had a corporate history with more twists and turns than a Shondaland show.
“I love that they’re an American company, that they were female founded…And I also love the fact that they are size inclusive. I’ve worn these clothes when I was an 18 and I’ve worn these clothes when I was a 10.”
Rhimes has inspired women through her work increasing representation onscreen, and through her New York Times bestselling memoir “Year of Yes.” The phrase “Own Your Power” is also meant to inspire.
“We were able to make this campaign really embody the sentiment that we all need to be proud and comfortable owning our power,” she said.
Part of the messaging is also about finding your personal style through wardrobing, which feels timely again, as it was a key focus of Proenza Schouler, Michael Kors, Brandon Maxwell and more who showed wearable clothes during the most recent fall 2023 New York Fashion Week collections.
“The idea is really about putting women in clothes that they feel confident and empowered and put-together in, almost so you don’t have to worry,” said Rhimes, who has St. John sweaters and black pants on rotation in her wardrobe. “There’s something about having that armor…It allows you to present yourself the way you want to be presented, so that you can present your ideas the way they need to be presented.”
Shondaland’s next project is the White House murder mystery “The Residence,” currently in development at Netflix, which has the potential to feature some influential Washington, D.C., style once again.
“No spoilers but we are working again with the amazingly talented [‘Scandal’ costume designer] Lyn Paolo. Olivia Pope wore a lot of St. John actually, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Lyn will bring her creative magic to the show as well,” Rhimes said.
Costume has become an added selling point for TV shows in recent years.
“It allows you to fantasize about the world of characters,” said Rhimes. “And it’s really given me a sense of what style means — it’s not looking like somebody else wants you to look but looking like who you are inside.”
St. John is looking for a similar storyline under new designer Enrico Chiarparin and new creative consultant, Hollywood stylist Karla Welch.
The strategy now, after the departure of creative director Zoe Turner and the initial public offering of parent company Lanvin Group, is an evolution in design direction, not a revolution. The fall collection reflected that, with plenty of the brand’s signature tweedy jackets in updated shapes to wear as part of a suit or with your own slouchy jeans, and more of an eye on soft, stretch and seasonless dressing.
In her three-year tenure, Turner brought celebrity heat — and sexy tweed bodysuits — to the California brand perennially described as needing a facelift, which was improbably embraced by Gigi Hadid, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and other “It” girls. But the fit of the directional pieces was tricky, and many ended up on sale.
“Zoe was a huge complement to the brand but it was terrible timing,” said chief executive officer Andy Lew, who took on the role in May 2021, arriving with past executive experience at Brooks Brothers and Authentic Brands Group. But the customer “wasn’t buying St. John to do Zoom calls. So our client couldn’t really vote and it was hard for me to get a read. We were getting some different feedback; our partners said there is still a white space for what St. John is all about. We love what Zoe is doing but how do we make sure we’re still speaking to the client out there.”
Lew sees the brand’s opportunity in “what is relatable, wearable and useful,” he said, which led him to hire Chiaparin, who has designed for Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Prada and James Perse, among others, and Welch, who is known for bringing a feminist POV to fashion and has worked with Tracee Ellis Ross, Elisabeth Moss and Olivia Wilde, Levi’s, Express and many more brands.
Initially the duo was tasked with creating a new Foundation line of wardrobe building blocks, and now their roles have evolved to include the main collection as well.
“It’s the only brand in America that has this kind of heritage,” said Chiaparin of St. John’s appeal. “I see the possibility.”
“When we did the IPO, our CEO [Joann Cheng] said when I talk to my peer CEOs, they wear St. John, they know they can trust it. She has a girlfriend who runs a portfolio at JP Morgan, who travels for three weeks with one small suitcase full of St. John. That’s what’s made us 60 years young; [our customer] has built a wardrobe with us. But that opportunity is different today because she doesn’t suit up head to toe. So that’s where our Foundation line comes in, how do you mix and match St. John. If you have a board meeting, presentation, event, it’s different today; it doesn’t mean a power suit. I joke that I put a suit on for dinner,” said Lew.
“It’s an interesting place to have a mark, and to see how a brand can rebuild itself,” said Welch, adding that the $695 double knit “Karla” flared pant she helped design is now the bestseller in the company. “It’s the pant I have always wanted, black with a kick. It’s about filling the little holes people have in their wardrobe…St. John can be a go-to for women who want to look great professionally, and oh, also this is one of my favorite brands. It can be multigenerational.”
That’s what brought the brand to Rhimes, Lew said. “She’s a client, her mom wore it. The Hollywood industry is tough and she’s a successful female who broke through. It’s going back to our clients; they’re incredible women doing extraordinary things.”
The brand is unveiling the campaign on social media and Rhimes will be the centerpiece of the spring collection catalog.
As for the strategy for Hollywood going forward, Lew said, “If there are the right synergies, we’ll look at them, and we’ll continue to work on the red carpet because we have the atelier.”
Welch’s client Busy Phillips wore a gray wool scoop-neck gown from the fall 2023 St. John collection to the Critics Choice Awards last month.
Wholesale will always be a priority for St. John, Lew said, naming Saks, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Harrods and Lane Crawford as key partners. “But our focus really is d-t-c and e-comm,” he said, noting the brand has 20 boutiques and will open two more this year, including one in Westfield Topanga.
“Those stores are intentionally smaller…we’re trying to create VIP rooms, warmer experiences, and build on this one client at a time.”
He’s already seeing results from the new design direction.
“Foundation has grown to 15 percent of the business. And we’re seeing how buyers are coming in and buying the collection, they are excited about filling the space…We’ve also been seeing the best sell-throughs in five years.”
The Lanvin Group IPO has “built a lot of energy and excitement to what we’re trying to do as a group, which is grow niche brands,” he said.
Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group (since rebranded to Lanvin Group) has had a controlling interest in St. John since 2017, but the Chinese market is still smaller than the North American one for the brand. “My focus is really to continue to build the business here, which makes it easier to build outside,” Lew said.
Over the last decade the brand has shifted its manufacturing almost entirely from Southern California to Asia and Tijuana, Mexico. “We do all our custom and special looks for runway and red carpet at our ateliers in Irvine,” he said, noting there are currently 120 people working at the headquarters.
“A focus of mine will be to do more knitting here and work with partners here so some things can be made in USA,” Lew said. “I think it’s always been part of our heritage and there’s a nice storytelling to that.”
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