J. Crew’s hipster sister label is FINALLY set to become available to Brits

Madewell goes global! J. Crew’s hipster sister label is FINALLY set to become available to Brits

The label will be available on Net-a-porter.com from February 25
Madewell, the denim-focused younger sister of J. Crew, is to become available in the UK for the first time thanks to a new partnership with Net-a-porter.com.

The fashion label, which is hugely popular in the U.S. for its hipster aesthetic and accessible price tag, is currently only available to buy in North America and Japan via its retail stores and website.

But from February 25, the new spring/summer 2015 collection will be stocked alongside high-end designer labels at Net-a-porter.com, finally making it shoppable for Brits.

Somsack Sikhounmuong, Head of Design at Madewell said in a press release that ‘new customers and fans have been requesting Madewell overseas for years.

‘You can’t beat the edit, presentation and incredible company we ‘d be keeping on Net-a-Porter,’ he said.

Madewell has also joined forces with Nordstrom, which will be selling its wares in stores across the U.S. and online from March 2.

The two new partnerships are clear evidence of J. Crew chairman and chief executive Mickey Drexler’s fresh focus on the Madewell brand – already successful with profits up 36 per cent to $171.7 million in the past year.

Mr Drexler, who acquired the Madewell Label in 2003 before selling it to J. Crew, said in a New York Times interview on Thursday: ‘I would like Madewell jeans to be the Levi’s of its generation.’

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But he insists that the new partnerships with Net-a-porter and Nordstrom are not the first steps in making Madewell a wholesale-style label.

‘As we looked at the availability of our products, we started to look at distribution differently,’ he told WWD. ‘This, for us, is really a new beginning. I wouldn’t call it necessarily a wholesale distribution. I would just call it distribution that makes sense from a customer point of view, from a brand point of view, from a Nordstrom and Net-a-porter point of view. . .

‘Where can you buy Madewell and J. Crew? We are not a wholesaler by nature. We have a small distribution. It’s scarce.’

Mr Sikhounmuong, a former J. Crew designer, who has been heading up the creative team at Madewell for over a year now, can also be credited with the label’s financial success.

Since seizing the helm, the designer has broadened the denim-focused offering to include more ‘grown-up’ pieces such as leather jackets, army-inspired jumpsuits and shirts hand-embroidered by Mexican artisans.

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