TV presenter and model Alexa Chung debuted her first fashion collection for Madewell at New York Fashion Week. Madewell is a US store and sister to J. Crew. The company has had a rather rocky start since launching over 3 years ago, but Alexa may be what it needed to take off.

Alexa said that Madewell’s vision is sort of the same as hers, as they like styles that are laid back and relaxed. They offer timeless and classic clothes, she continued, so she thought it was the perfect fit when they asked to collaborate with her.

The fall collection is influenced by the 1960s, including a mix of vintage blouses, cute shorts, high-waisted skirts and mini dresses, all with plaid, velvet and stripes – which are all very Alexa-like styles. The 26-year-old says that she is eager to do another range with the store in the future, but they have talked about it yet. She added that they will see how this collection goes.

Project Runway’s fourth season winner Christian Sirian, who also showed a collection in Bryant Park this week, said that this is a great way for Madewell to freshen up their image and look. Alexa was just featured on the cover of the latest Vogue issue and was named the Best Dressed Woman of last year by the mag.

Meanwhile, various other fashion designers, like Diane von Furstenberg and DKNY, have shown off their new collections at New York Fashion Week. The biggest trends seem to be coloured tights, men’s tailoring and large jackets.

Alexa Chung is set to dive head first into the fashion industry with the launch of her new line for J Crew’s new label, Madewell. The U.S. based label will bring on the UK television presenter to collaborate for the new subsidairy of the American clothes giant.

An offshoot of J Crew, the new high-street label will focus on high fashion designs to suplement their more basic clothing made by the traditional
side of the company.

Ms. Chung, who has been called one of the world’s most stylish individuals by magazines such as Vogue, has previously modeled for brands like

Pepe jeans, and even dabbled in design with Mulberry as the inspiration for their newest bag.
But, so far, Ms. Chung has yet to collaborate on a fashion line, and this new deal with Madewell will mark the first clothing design venture for the TV star.

Ms. Chung will be brought on to the label as their celebrity consultant designer. The label, which is a favourite of Ms. Chung’s, also boasts celebrity clients such as Michelle Obama.

The subsidiary of J Crew focuses on vintage-inspired designs making it a quickly growing brand which has become popular with people across the States.

Millard Drexler, CEO and chairman of J Crew, reportedly asked his staff who they would pick as Madewell’s number one customer, to which the majority named Ms. chung. Many of them had personally served the star in the store.

In a comment to Women’s Wear Daily, Mr. Drexler said that there was no master plan to the collaboration, and that Madewell had not been looking, particularly, to hire a celebrity spokesperson, but that the company had found Ms. Chung to be so pleasant and likeable that, combined with her impeccable fashion sense, the partnership was perfect.