Justin Warshaw, CEO and Creative Director of Justin Alexander, is working at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in New York City but that hasn’t stopped his drive to continually innovate the Justin Alexander brand in times of crises, nor has it dimmed his optimistic outlook on the future of the bridal industry.
Bridal Times had the pleasure of speaking with Justin about the new brand ADORE, getting a glimpse into the creative team of Justin Alexander and hearing his encouraging words for retailers during this difficult time.
With five successful proprietary brands under the Justin Alexander portfolio, it’s hard to imagine what else a bride could possibly desire! But when asked about the decision to add the new ADORE brand, Justin says, “We felt there was room for a slightly more informal collection that offered a bride something more relaxed but not bohemian. It could be a destination dress or maybe she is a city hall bride. We thought that we were lacking in our assortment, so actually the brand fits perfectly within the Justin Alexander portfolio. It made the most sense to use the designer name for that collection.”
The ADORE collection was created by “design dream team”, Terri Hilfery, Tony Mentel, Olivia Howes and Justin himself. Justin adds, “We all work on the collections together. It’s a collaborative effort on most of our brands, so we all work very closely on the development of the collection.”
So how is ADORE different from the Justin Alexander Collections? Justin explains, “The collection is a little more informal and you will see shorter trains and less volume. You can also describe the Lillian West collection as informal but it’s more bohemian, whereas ADORE is more sophisticated with nice touches of detail, but nothing too over the top. It stands apart from every collection in our portfolio.”
GLAM BEAD WORK, REFINED STYLING, SLEEK SILHOUETTES
The anticipation to see the new ADORE brand and Justin Alexander collections on the runway this Spring was great. But due to the current situation, it still remains very unclear when the next shows will take place. However, Justin was able to share a few details on exciting trends they have been working on.
“In terms of the latest styles in the collections, the Justin Alexander Signature Collection is Jazz-Age inspired, featuring glam beadwork with slinky styling. It’s “Gatsby-esque” but in a modern way. We have beautiful silhouettes like we always do, architectural styling with large bows and beautiful details.”
“For the Justin Alexander Collection, it’s always sophisticated, polished and refined styling. Clean details with a touch of beading. A huge trend right now is floral and leaf motifs. We are big on that, as well as oversized motifs which can be really romantic when placed on a train or hem.”
“ADORE is a more youthful and flirty collection with clean and sleek silhouettes, but nothing too voluminous. The collection embraces soft feminine details and flowing skirts.”
“With Lillian West, we incorporated lace-up details which is something that is a little more sexy and unique. Whether it be a sexy lace-up corset back or a lace-up detail on the arm or neckline.”
“And for Sincerity, we have our classic princess look. We try to find new ways to give more sparkle to the collection, but an approachable price point. So we are super excited about what we have come up with on Sincerity.”
EPIC, INTIMATE, EXOTIC
And it’s not only the gowns and fashion show productions that take our breath away, but the massive effort put into the marketing campaigns each season by the Justin Alexander creative team.
“For Justin Alexander, the campaign always has an epic, intimate component. We want something that is dramatic and gorgeous with a stunning landscape. We picked locations in the past such as Santorini in Greece, the French Riviera, we were in Sicily last year and we like to incorporate the local customs as well. This year, we shot the Justin Alexander campaign in Marcé, France on a beautiful yacht and it was absolutely stunning, breathtaking and dramatic. We can’t wait to share those videos.”
“And for Lillian West, we wanted to portray a couple that got away from the craziness of life and isolated together in a romantic setting. We chose Camargue in the south of France in a fisherman’s community and shot with wild horses in low-land water. It really was stunning. We are happy to have this content to share with retailers and brides,” says Justin.
SUPPORTING THE CAUSE
Aside from the glamour of bridal, the brand has also played a role in standing up for what is right. Commenting on last year’s “Be You” campaign featuring body-positivity model Iskra Lawrence and advocating for size inclusivity, Justin says, “We are a big believer in diversity and inclusion. Most recently we participated in International Women’s Day and that is for all women. We also helped raise money for VOW which is a program against child marriage, which is a major problem right now in our world. Every woman should be able to choose and not be forced into marriage. That was one of our recent causes, but we are always interested in supporting pro-women causes that promote diversity and inclusion.”
LEADING THE WAY
As the third generation leading the company, Justin credits his family for setting a solid groundwork – starting from his grandparents, uncle and then later his father – by successfully establishing the business internationally in the European market.
When asked how he feels his role is different from the previous generations, Justin says, “For me, it’s working to become an important player in the U.S. market which is something we have done, and to bring our brand value to another level which includes design, creativity and marketing.”
Justin also admits he learned a lot during the stock market crash in 2008 when he joined the business. “If you want to do one thing well, you have to do everything well. And that is what I have been discussing with our team over the years and even today. What can we do to make improvements while we are at home during the crises and do things in a new way? And what advancements can we make, and make sure that we come out of this better than how we went into it?”
“A big area of my focus has been marketing in the last 10 years, and I think that is where you see the largest differences – in our marketing and creative work. Our team is absolutely unbelievable and we have so many great contributors and that is one of the reasons we have been successful over the years,” says Justin.
VIRTUAL WAY OF WORKING
At the moment, New York is the hardest hit city in the U.S. with the coronavirus crises, and it was clear that internal communication within the company had to drastically shift. Employees and management are kept up-to-date with daily video conferences, and for retailers Justin adds, “We have slowly introduced video conferencing software that we can utilize for sales efforts and keeping customers updated. It’s very important for them to see us and hear us. The first thing we did was a Q&A session with U.S. retailers, and we plan to do the same for EU retailers.”
“We will also start introducing our virtual presentations and inviting retailers to events that will be hosted virtually to view the Fall/Winter 2020 and Spring/Summer 2021 collections. We will have flexible options for them to view the collections and make reservations for their orders. We are very aware of the difficult time we are in right now and how uncertain it is when shops will be able to reopen, but we are doing this with all of them in mind.”
With emotion and energy Justin added, “We are aware of what is going to happen when the shops reopen. When the quarantine is over, brides are going to be so ready to get married. All of the postponed weddings and canceled weddings are going to be on top of the weddings that were planned for August. So we are making sure that our inventory positions are very strong so when brides come in with tight turnaround, we are able to service our shops and brides.”
In terms of the crises, Justin says, “If you follow history, you always have a period of great crises, whether it be a war or some sort of recession. It’s always caused people to get a whole lot closer and we feel this will be no different. People are going to get closer and we are going to want to celebrate. You like to celebrate after hardship. This is a very tough time for us all. When we come out of it, it’s going to be a very positive feeling and relief that it’s behind us. Brides may be a little cautious in terms of their spending, but they are going to want to get married, they are going to want to have children, so we are very optimistic that once this is behind us, it’s going to be a very positive thing.”
MESSAGE TO RETAILERS
Justin encourages, “It’s essential that we work together to stop this pandemic and unfortunately that means temporarily closing for our retailers – but this is not forever. We are going to get through this together.”
“Utilize the free time that you have, get creative, engage with brides on social media and consider virtual consultations. Stay active, set up appointments for once you reopen.”
“But know that we are here for you, we are flexible, and we’re available to help in any way. When you reopen your shop, we will be ready for those orders and we’ll have our inventory positions in place. We know how tough this is right now because we are feeling it too, but we are going to weather this storm and come out of it stronger than we were before.”
For further information on the collections, visit Justin Alexander