J.Crew Knows How to Get People Talking
In the words of Laura Reilly, the brain behind the fashion Substack Magasin, Puglia is now “J.Cruglia”. Or, at least, it was for a week in mid-June.
J.Crew, the quintessential American mall brand that has re-found its cool under the leadership of Olympia Gayot and NOAH’s Brendon Babenzien, is collaborating with boutique hotel Masseria San Domenico on a vacation-friendly capsule collection.
In celebration of this partnership, the 15th-century Italian watchtower turned five-star resort was suddenly home to a who’s who of tastemakers. Content creators, editors, and stylists were invited to the high-end resort to hang out — wearing head-to-toe J.Crew, of course.
You might already have seen some of what went down, posted to Instagram or documented on Substack.
The judge of New York City’s hot takes, Kareem Rahma, was snapped jumping in the ocean clad in a soaking wet button-down shirt, and gallerist Alex Tieghi-Walker shared a video biking through the Italian countryside. Buzzy chef and model Pierce Abernathy attended alongside Marie von Behrens-Felipe, one of Germany’s most successful content creators. And Emily Sundberg’s newsletter chronicled the whole thing, stating, “a new bar has been set for The Brand Trip.”
Treating a bunch of people with big followings to a decadent weekend and hoping it gets chins wagging isn’t a novel marketing idea. (Nor, it’s worth noting, is creating a capsule collection with a luxury hotel.) Spend enough time online and you’ll come across these kinds of branded experiences regularly. This wasn’t even J. Crew’s first time; they’ve been hosting press trips for a while now. However, there is an art to curating the right balance of names and photo-friendly moments.
Helped by a picturesque Italian coastline, J. Crew’s rustic straw bag, silk bandana featuring artwork by illustrator Joana Avillez, and white two-piece with intricate eyelet panels were suddenly no longer just items from its latest collaboration. They became the set pieces for the trip everyone was talking about.
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