The Big Picture
- Jenna Lyons, former Executive Creative Director of J.Crew, brings her fashion expertise to RHONY and isn't afraid to share her input on the other women's outfits.
- Lyons has earned a reputation as a fashionista throughout her 27 years at J.Crew, transforming the brand into a household name and dressing celebrities like Michelle Obama.
- Lyons is the first openly gay woman to be a Real Housewife, and she has become a role model for the LGBTQ+ community, sharing her journey and experiences with her fellow castmates.
This year’s reboot of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York brought a whole new group of housewives to the show. Among a real estate developer, a brand ambassador, a former model, a content creator, and a fashion publicist, Jenna Lyons stands out as the most fashion-oriented of them all. Her past work speaks for her as the former Executive Creative Director of J.Crew Group, as she transformed the company from a men’s catalog-focused brand into the fashion household name that it is today.
Jenna’s 27 years at J.Crew took her from assistant designer to creative director to president before she left the company in 2017. In 2013, The New York Times called her the “Woman Who Dresses America”. At the time, J. Crew’s line for women had dressed a number of celebrities, including First Lasy Michelle Obama, for her public appearances. Despite her apparent awkwardness, Jenna shows she isn’t shy on camera at all and recently launched her false eyelash beauty brand, Loveseen. She brings her fashion expertise to RHONY’s and isn’t afraid to share her input on the other women’s outfits.
Lyons Has Earned Her Fashionista Reputation
Boston native Lyon moved to California at a very young age with her family. She used to be very shy and has a genetic skin condition called incontinentia pigmenti that causes hyperpigmentation. She earned her first position at J. Crew in her early twenties as an assistant to designers of men's clothing. Flash forward to 2011, and she was named Creative Executive Director, and by then the brand had expanded its reach to a high-fashion market. She's attended the Met Gala a number of times now, and she always brings a sober, slick, yet playful vibe to the table. Her style has been described as "high-low".
In 2013, she appeared to play a QG executive for Hbo Max's (now just Max) Girls, where she worked as the lead character's boss at a magazine. Lena had reportedly asked Jenna to be on the show to mostly play herself. Although she may come off as this Miranda Priestly type on the show, in real life she leads with kindness and claims to be shy in "group settings". In 2020, Lyons came up with her reality competition series called Stylish with Jenna Lyons for HBO Max.
On the show, she looks for her next assistant among a group of men and women, assigning them different challenges like event planning, decorating, and styling collections. Instead of taking it as a cutthroat competition, her approach is more that of an educator when it comes to styling, interior design, and event planning. In an interview with Vogue, she explained, "If I’m going to hire someone, I want to see what they can actually do. That was an added level of intensity, but it also allowed people to see that not everyone feels confident. They don’t always know what to do, and that’s okay.”
Lyons' Fashion Stamp On 'RHONY'
Jenna Lyons' addition to the cast of season 14 of RHONY seemed perfect. As a fashion expert already, she likes to compliment her castmates on their outfit choices or give her subtle critiques. In the first few episodes, Jenna shares a glimpse of her past designs and red-carpet looks as she gets some of her past garments ready for sale. Instead of being uptight about her fashion, she likes to be playful, and she has repeatedly brought the housewives some garments as gifts.
On their trip to the Hamptons at Erin Lichy's house, she brings sexy lingerie for each of them so that they can wear it for a "lingerie night". The night is a fun one as it starts to look like a pajama party, but the drama is sparked when Jessel Taank says she feels like a "Christmas tree" with her green lingerie. Being the marketing expert that she is, she gives quick mentions of her eyelash beauty line in interviews and on the show too. Out of all of her castmates, she has the highest social media following with over 600K followers on Instagram; followed in second by content creator and brand ambassador Sai Da Silva with 560K followers. Jenna has also been promoting brands that she supports, like Wonder Valley hair products. Their creators, Jay and Alison Carroll, say that Jenna has "always been great at buying bulk and gifting it to people."
RHONY’s Role Model For The LGBTQ+ Community
When casting for RHONY was announced in 2022, it was also news that she became the first openly gay woman to be a real housewife. This is a first-ever in the franchise's history, and she's been comfortable sharing her journey with the rest of the women.
At a dinner at the Hamptons, she mentioned that after her divorce from artist Vincent Mazeau, her marriage was already unstable, and she didn't feel as happy as she used to. At a dinner in the Hamptons with the women, she mentions, "I had no idea. I was in a very tricky situation. My very close friend was gay, and we were having a conversation. My relationship was falling apart with my husband. And I asked her, like, What happens with women?... And by the end of the conversation, after a lot of detail, I realized that I had never had that feeling before. I just wanted to kiss her. I was completely surprised.
In her process of coming out, she mentioned that her mom didn't take it so easily. She also mentioned that she had been seen with her girlfriend at night out, was cold-called to her office, and was asked to confirm her sexuality rumors to end up being outed by The New York Post. To which she just said, "Confirm".
In an interview with The View, she was happy to bring up the fact that young people looked up to her while being at J. Crew. "When I was at J. Crew, I had a lot of young kids coming to me, and their parents thought that they weren't going to be successful. They were like, 'My mom is so relieved to see someone so successful who's openly gay', and for some reason, they thought that it was going to limit them or they wouldn't be happy or they couldn't find success in career, or happiness, in love, and those things just aren't true..."