Jenna Lyons: The Fashion Original (original) (raw)

Jenna Lyons

Lyons in her (totally enviable) New York City office.

With her dark-rimmed glasses, signature center part, and talent for mixing color, texture, and pattern (a striped T-shirt with sequined pants? yes!), Jenna Lyons has inspired legions of women to wake up a little earlier in the morning to try to look even half as cool as she does. As president and executive creative director of J.Crew—the booming $1.9 billion brand that Michelle Obama, Katie Holmes, and Oprah can't get enough of—she's not only the brains behind the clothes but also their most recognizable model.

"I enjoy the process of putting crazy outfits together," says Lyons, 44, who started making her own clothes in seventh grade when her six-foot height made shopping a challenge. She earned a degree from Parsons in New York City and then ascended through the J.Crew ranks, from assistant in 1990 to creative director in 2007. Add the introduction of kids and bridal lines to the mix—not to mention 170 percent growth over nine quick years—and it's clear Lyons is on fire. "Amazing things happen when you're having fun doing something you love," she says.

Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic Robin Givhan isn't surprised by Lyons' success: "She transformed J.Crew from an inexpensive preppy brand into a brand that really gets at the heart of how American women want to dress…. Her greatest skill is that she can dress both mothers and daughters with equal style. And she proves that it can be done at a fair price."

This year Lyons continued to push the company to exciting new places: celebrity endorsements, a new presence in Asia, and, next year, world domination—literally—with its first brick-and-mortar store overseas. "She influences, she creates," says J.Crew's chairman and CEO, Mickey Drexler. "But what's less known about Jenna is that she's a really smart businessperson." She's also mom to a six-year-old son and a judge for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. "I'm constantly looking for ways to do more," Lyons says. "My day is never over!" Such is the life of a superwoman. "I'm partial," says Drexler, "but I think she's a Woman of the Year every year."