The Wait Is Over: J. Crew Arrives In London

J. CREW has finally arrived on British shores, with the opening of a pop-up store in London's King's Cross and a collaboration with Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

The label's creative director, Jenna Lyons, talked the college's MA knitwear design students through the project herself yesterday - a brief in which students must design a cashmere piece in keeping with J. Crew's aesthetic. She will then choose the most outstanding applications to put into production globally, selling the pieces in stores and online. The winning students will be taken through the entire process - from design to fit to detail to store, a journey that will take them to international factories where the items will be made.

"I visited England many times when I was growing up and the arts and culture is so much more prevalent here than in California where I later moved to," Lyons told us at the briefing. "I wanted to come to boarding school in the UK, then arts college in London, but it never worked out and I ended up going to Parson's in New York. [The J.Crew team and I] wanted to share our point of view with others, but also to see J. Crew through the eyes of others. Collaborations introduce us to new people."

But the collaboration doesn't end there. J. Crew is also offering one CSM MA student a scholarship every year for the next three years, chosen by Lyons and MA fashion course director Louise Wilson. The bursary will cover tuition fees and accommodation for a year.

"J. Crew was coming to London and wanted to give back to creativity, so of course they came to Central Saint Martins," said Louise Wilson. "I would like to think that as a leading American brand, and as we are as a leading institution, they are creative and we are creative - it was a happy accident that they wanted to support education. Without brands' support, we would be dead in the water. We met through their fortuitous imagination. This is about live learning."

For Lyons, setting the brief on knitwear was an obvious choice.

"Knitwear knowledge isn't as prevalent in the US," said Lyons. "Here, it's a much bigger deal. You guys love a knit. Then, when we first started having these discussions about the pop-up, it made sense to work with the college. Hosting the pop-up here gave the students a sense of who we are, especially because styling is so important to us.  The individual pieces can be mixed in a quiet way or you can wear them as we suggest. It's about encouraging students to think outside the box."

The move will doubtlessly raise J. Crew's UK profile ahead of the launch of its debut London flagship store, which opens on Regent Street in November.

"We wanted people to have a personal connection to us," said Lyons. "We want people to have a point of view, that's what Central Saint Martins cultivates. If you never expand your world and push the boundaries of what you can do, it's hard to carve your piece."