Why J.Crew’s Bid to Be Cool Again Doesn’t Include Supermodels

Alexandra Mondalek
J.Crew presented its new collection at New York Fashion Week and cast its show with relatable people, not major models. (Photo: Getty Images)
J.Crew presented its new collection at New York Fashion Week and cast its show with relatable people, not major models. (Photo: Getty Images)

When J.Crew hosted its New York Fashion Week presentation on Feb. 12, the brand didn’t rely on the high-profile models du jour to attract attention. There was no Gigi, no Bella, and no Kendall.

Instead, J.Crew displayed 62 new men’s and women’s looks from its Fall/Winter 2017 collection on the backs of mostly noncelebrities, real people representing diverse backgrounds and races (who also happen to be friends of the brand). This, the seasoned company bets, will help it reconnect with the core shoppers it has recently alienated as well as attract new ones.

<br> Katharine, a J.Crew fabric coordinator, wears a silk robe dress and matching trousers during the J.Crew New York Fashion Week presentation. (Photo: Getty Images)

Katharine, a J.Crew fabric coordinator, wears a silk robe dress and matching trousers during the J.Crew New York Fashion Week presentation. (Photo: Getty Images)

There was something for everyone in the new collection, which creative director Jenna Lyons says is a reimagining of some of J.Crew’s most iconic pieces (think rugby shirts, tweed). If you’re skeptical that the idea of combining old classics with a new twist can really feel fresh, J.Crew makes a fair case for it. For example, a pin dot silk robe dress with a pair of slouchy, matching trousers, modeled by one of the company’s fabric coordinators, feels ultracool.

Another winning look — a cashmere sweater with a nettle skirt and fuzzy animal print bag — offers a fresh take on the camo print, which Somsack Sikhounmuong, J.Crew women’s designer, says is a neutral as far as he’s concerned. Worth noting: The look was modeled by Liv Freundlich, a high schooler who also happens to be actress Julianne Moore’s daughter. (Mom was watching proudly from the crowd.)

Liv Freundlich is one of the “real people” models that J.Crew cast in its presentation during NYFW. She also happens to be Julianne Moore’s daughter. (Photo: Getty Images)
Liv Freundlich is one of the “real people” models that J.Crew cast in its presentation during NYFW. She also happens to be Julianne Moore’s daughter. (Photo: Getty Images)

To be sure, J.Crew has more to do to rebuild customer loyalty, and a short-lived boost provided by the Obamas after the 2013 inauguration wasn’t enough to overcome the company’s problems. Shoppers say ill-fitting clothes, high prices, and an identity crisis have left them looking elsewhere for their sophisticated-cum-stylish looks, as reflected in a two-year-old sales slump and $2 billion in debt.

The course-correcting 2017 collection of old-school-meets-new “mashups” comes after a design process that reconciled the company’s core identity with a new perspective.

“As a designer, you’re always starting off early by throwing around ideas, but everything goes through J.Crew’s filter,” Sikhounmuong told Yahoo Style. “If it doesn’t fit or feels unnatural or forced, it’ll naturally fold off and it doesn’t make it onto the final board of ideas.”

Parts of the collection will be available to shop starting on Feb. 14, and will reveal whether J.Crew’s bid to be cool again is one shoppers will buy.

Alexandra Mondalek is a writer for Yahoo Style and Beauty. Follow her on Twitter @amondalek.

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