Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the banks are sound after the SVB failure, Women's World Cup players are competing for more money than last time, and Maggie Bullock, author of the new book The Kingdom of Prep, outlines the rise of Jenna Lyons at J. Crew. Have a relaxing weekend.
- Star power. On Oct. 27, 2008, even the most dedicated followers of fashion had never heard of Jenna Lyons. But that was about to change, and fast. Late that night, Lyons was at home in Brooklyn, in bed, watching the Tonight Show, when she suddenly jolted up. Michelle Obama had just walked onstage wearing a sparkly pencil skirt and jewel-studded cardigan, all in a mélange of yellow. This was the Jenna Lyons look—one she had created, as the creative director and president of J. Crew.
This moment was the first big spark in a star-making process that would catapult a woman who’d spent her whole career working her way up the ladder of a catalogue company known for preppy basics—hardly the glamorous end of the biz—onto the magazine covers, HBO guest spots, and red carpets of fashion’s A-list.
