Continuing our love affair née shoe-crush with Jeffrey Campbell, Lori's recently bandied words with Ty McBride, the brand and style guru of the company. We've always loved Ty's irrepressible personality (we often visualize him bouncing off the walls as he types to us). So we followed suit: several strong coffees later we hammered out some insouciant questions and sent them over to get a glimpse of what's doing in the land of Campbell.Describe a typical day in JC Land.
Ty: That’s the best part about my job – no two days are alike!! I spent the majority of today in client meetings all over NYC. I spent the balance working on a TEEN VOGUE request for a fashion shoot and answering emails from Jeffrey Campbell clients. Oh, and I leave for China at Midnight. Still gotta pack!
Where does the inspiration come from? Give us a tour of the process.
Ty: Well, I work with and for Jeffrey. I concentrate on branding and styling, taking cues from what girls are wearing, blogging, dreaming and wanting! I do a lot of people watching and thrifting. I also have a young intern. She keeps me in the loop on what's cool!! This is helpful now that I am, well, getting older. (31!!) We take cues from every place possible. We shop Europe. We look to our favorite celebs and the stores we love as well.
How do you think the economic climate is influencing how people dress? What kind of trends are you seeing?
This is a great question and I think one that has several answers. People are being careful, cautious and spending wisely, but let's face it: the ladies want their shoes! We are finding that FUN ITEMS for us are really checking. Updated classics that pop and are FRESH. Items that when she sees them at Lori’s she thinks, “Hmmm, I don't own this already ... " I feel that, at JC, we are at a perfect pricepoint, if there were one, for a time like this. We keep it real. We keep it affordable. We still try to pass on comfort, trend and the Jeffrey Campbell edge that our clients have come to trust.
And how will that affect how you design for the next few seasons?
Ty: When the economy took a turn, we just looked at it and thought that this was our time to prove who we are and to do our shoes the most fun and fashion-forward way possible. The response has been good; we like the fashionista in everyone! We are just trying to put out items that shoppers see as fashion, fun and affordable while remaining unique and true to our brand vision.
What is your current favorite style? … And dress it for us.
Ty: Our favorite shoe style ... hmmm. We love AMERICANA meets MASCULINE items, shoes included. We love looks that involve Pendleton Wool shirts, structured looks and classic American throwbacks remixed for the 2000s. We like how women are bending proportions with oversized and superfitted items and then truly using shoes as accessories.
Describe Jeffrey Campbell, the collection, using only gerunds.
Ty: If I had to choose a few: Winning. Working. Doing. Getting. Giving. Entertaining. Moving. Making.
Ty is holding the Hatcher, named after Teri Hatcher and available online.