J. Crew's creative director and president, Jenna Lyons, who turned the brand into a billion business has been held on a pedestal for quite some time. However, after diverting too far from the company's "original" image it seems like the mighty has fallen.
After sending out the company's latest catalog to the brand's VIP customers, one unimpressed customer wrote to the company to complain about her displeasure with the direction J. Crew clothing decided to take.
According to Hollywood Life, customer, Elizabeth DeRose, received the catalog and was quite disappointed with the new appearance.
The valued customer complained via email that the brand was trying to be something it's not, saying, "I am so disheartened and disappointed that you are leaving your core values and styling and abandoning your loyal customers.
"I would have thought you had learned your lesson at the Gap!! Why mess with these iconic brands and change them into something they're not?"
Feeling the pressure the CEO of the company Mickey Drexler personally called the woman to apologize.
[For photos of some of the new clothing featured in the J. Crew catalog click HERE]
According to the Daily Mail, Drexler admitted to DeRose that "Some of the styling had perhaps strayed too far from the classics and brand messaging for which J. Crew had become known."
The CEO even followed up their phone call with an email, reassuring her that the J. Crew team "are on it for sure," adding, "I hope you see a difference this fall."
The Daily Mail reported that a J. Crew employee revealed customers need to spend at least "five figures" before earning VIP status. "If you are a great customer, we will know," wrote the employee for blog J. Crew Aficionado.
"You will get flagged as a VIP, and we will bend over backwards for you. A single thousand dollar order does not make a great customer. You need to hit close to five figures before you become a VIP at J.Crew."
How do you feel about J. Crew taking into consideration the opinion of a VIP customer? Let us know your thoughts with a comment below.