On Tuesday, Juicy Couture announced the appointment of celebrity stylist Jamie Mizrahi as its creative director, with her first collection for the California-classic brand to debut for Spring 2018. Over the years, Mizrahi has garnered her own following within the industry and on social media for styling a stellar roster of clients, including Katy Perry, Riley Keough, Suki Waterhouse, Nicole Richie and Sasha Lane, to name a few.
Jamie Mizrahi. Photo: Courtesy
Mizrahi took on a consulting role for Juicy Couture last year, helping the brand find its millennial-nostalgia footing in a competitive retail space. As a result, the fashion label — and its signature velour tracksuit — has experienced quite the comeback, thanks to recent collaborations with Vetements, Urban Outfitters and Topshop. And while Mizrahi’s upcoming contributions will include an update to Juicy Couture’s tracksuit, the stylist also plans to bring more athleisure to the brand, as well as on-trend pieces featuring archive prints.
“I am not trying to reinvent Juicy,” Mizrahi told WWD. “It has such a brand identity already — carefree, tongue-in-cheek fashion. What I’m doing is taking the history that is so special and continuing to make it feel fun and wearable by bringing back silhouettes and materials and making them work for the modern woman.”
Sketches from Jamie Mizrahi’s collection for Juicy Couture. Photo: Courtesy
Although stylists have been applying their fashion know-how to certain brands for a while — Ilaria Urbanati and Eddie Bauer; Carine Roitfeld for Uniqlo — it’s rare for the labels to actually hire a stylist for a top role like creative director. One instance that does come to mind is former fashion editor and stylist Nicola Formichetti‘s appointment as the creative director of Thierry Mugler, followed by Diesel in 2013. Rachel Zoe has been able to use her sartorial influence to build a clothing and media empire, too. Similarly, Helmut Lang hired Dazed Editor-in-Chief Isabella Burley in March as its new “Editor-in-Residence” to help with the label’s forthcoming collections, campaigns and additional special projects.
Could Mizrahi’s new gig help kick off more hirings of stylists-turned-creative directors at big-name brands? With fashion houses shuffling its lead designers like musical chairs, we wouldn’t be surprised if the creative director role takes on a different form in the near future.
Want more Fashionista? Sign up for our daily newsletter and get us directly in your inbox.
