The Genius of Daphne Guinness

A sense of drama is always an inspired companion to fashion. So it should come as no surprise that Barneys New York announced that they were collaborating with Daphne Guinness on a live window performance at their flagship Madison Avenue store to celebrate the Met Gala. Part peep show and part performance art, the exercise attracted a mix of curious onlookers, die-hard fashionistas and budding design students. Lady Gaga meets Matthew Barney in an Alexander McQueen haute couture dress. The piece lasted only about seven minutes, and once it was over, my marketing brain kicked into overdrive analyzing the potential marketing benefits of such a brief and insular event. But as soon as the wheels started turning, I was reminded why I love working with fashion brands – ideas don’t always have to make logical sense. Great fashion brands are some of the biggest risk takers in the marketing world because they don’t always have to generate a brief, a USP (unique selling proposition for the non-marketing folks), a consumer insight or ROI to buy into an idea. Barneys, Daphne Guinness, Alexander McQueen and the Met Costume Gala? Sounds like an interesting idea – Let’s do it. The measurement of success is merely the fact that it went down…

peter g

For those of you who don’t know her already – meet Jenna Lyons, President and Executive Creative Director at J. Crew. Professional envy aside, there is something different about Jenna. Not only is she the driving force behind the retailer’s product design, she is also their arbiter of all things cool. “Jenna’s Picks” – her monthly email of handpicked J. Crew essentials, her latest video log of the design team’s travels through Italy in search of century-old craftsmanship, and now her latest missive – “Saturday with Jenna” – all work together to stitch a story about style, passion, and yes, curating. We’re invited to see things through Jenna’s discriminating lens and more importantly partake in her edited choices from the world around us. In the world of marketing, this is nothing new: a front person that is paraded to consumers as the “expert”. But the undeniable success of Jenna’s world is a lesson in layered storytelling. Probably most significant, is the fact that Jenna’s world is there for those who care to discover it, but not central to their marketing. J. Crew is still the purveyor of practical catalogue and online shopping, but now, for a whole new legion of label-focused shoppers, Jenna gives them a reason to believe in this brand as well. “Not everything at J. Crew is worth my attention…but Jenna’s picks promises unique style from a mass label.” A brilliant way to get two seemingly diametrically opposed retail demographics together in one store.

peter g