What Happens when Finance Meets Fashion, Falls in Love and decides to give it all up for Fashion?

Having moved from Toronto to NYC in 2001, Jay Godfrey started out in the financial epicentre as an investment banker. Shifting districts in 2004, he is now earning a enviable reputation by dealing with another type of global account. 

Now in the midst of showing a pre-Spring 2010 collection to stores around the  globe, Jay has built his eponymous brand quickly because of a tiring schedule that involves constantly analyzing store reports, dressing celebs and making personal appearances at shops that carry his line. With a keen uptown eye for what the downtown girl wants (and a few celebs for that matter), the Jay Godfrey collections fly off the shelves.

The business of fashion is top of mind when I caught up with him on a sunny Monday morning in New York City. 

W: How many collections do you do a year?

JG: We do eight collections. Spring is three deliveries, Fall is three, then there's pre-Spring and Holiday. Each collection will have between 15 and 25 pieces. Doing small groupings allows us to figure out what people are liking, and it's not such a huge commitment.

W: Are you showing at New York Fashion Week in September?

JG: No. What works better for us is to spend the time and effort pursuing different avenues like celebrity dressing and traveling to stores around the country meeting customers. It's been a successful strategy as recent celebrities that have worn [my designs] are Megan Fox, Lauren Conrad, Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Eva Longoria Parker, Leighton Meester, Blake Lively in an episode of Gossip Girl, and Anna Farris, to name a few!

W: Inspiration behind Holiday 2009?

JG: It's got a hard edge. Exposed zippers and edgy colours. Steven Sprouse. A lot of people are familiar with his bags, but I was more interested in the lifestlye - 80s, Blondie, day-glow colours. We feel the neons are going to be strong this season and into Spring....it feels right now. There is an overarching sex appeal to the clothes - we used a lot of liquid lames for the green and fuschia so [those pieces] look wet.

W: Going back to dressing those celebrities... What's that experience really like?

JG: It's been really cool. I look at it as an honour to dress these people since there are so many designers they can pick from. The greatest feeling I get, is when an A-lister like Eva Mendes or Halle Berry - who have every big fashion house in the world, some offering to pay them, to wear [their designs] - when they wear something of mine that is the greatest feeling in the world.

W: You just shot your Fall campaign, will you print that lookbook or stay strictly in email world?

JG: It's interesting. When my business started four years ago it was all about printing as many lookbooks as possible to spread the word. Now I will tell you that, while we print a few books for those that need to see them but nine times out of ten, business comes via the web site.

With the economy the way it is, how has that affected your price points and business overall?

I wouldn't say we've changed [our price point] as much as we've expanded it. Our top end is about $500 for a dress. There's also a dress that is part of our pre-Fall collection and it's doing very well at $195. We expanded our offering to suit the  lifestyle of our customer...Sure, she is still going out but maybe not to fancy events. She's a bit more casual, and she's making day looks work into the night. I come from Oscar de la Renta's world and, as much as I loved making $5000 dresses, it's just not realistic.

W: Describe your Fall Collection in three words.

JG: 1980s Downtown Girl.

W: Fave Piece?

JG: Jersey is the ultimate day to evening fabric. Some of my favourite pieces are the ones that are versatile and can take many different women to many different places. One of our bestselling styles [that will be in stores soon] for Fall was a jumpsuit.

W: Shops?

JG: We're in about 200 retailers across Canada and the U.S...most in the U.S. Our big guns are Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Intermix. Then we have a bunch of cool specialty stores... from a shop in LA, that might buy ten pieces, to stores in Turkey, Lebanon and Kuwait. I consider myself lucky to have such great customers. We've been quite disciplined to put the collections in the right places because the brand is so young.

W: What are the big learning lessons that you might pass on to an aspiring designer?

JG: You know, my father always told me, and it's the greatest piece of advice...Don't get too high on your highs and too low on your lows. This is the type of business where there are exceptional highs - a feature in a magazine, a celeb wearing your design - that are all very exciting and it's easy to get [caught up in the] high. But it's also easy to get low - like when the economy tanked last Fall. It's true in any business, and I'd tell anyone getting into it, unless you live, eat and breath fashion there is no place for you.

My background as a banker has certainly been helpful, because fashion is a business no matter what and it's important to understand the nuts and bolts.

I mean, it's Monday and we'll get about 14 reports from the department stores telling us what has sold and how many units are in stock. Understanding sell-throughs and profitability [indicators] within a department store is important to success.

W: How are you feeling about Spring 2010?

JG: I think versatility is the key, as it has been for the last few months in terms of what [shoppers] are reacting to. I think after the exceptionally dark colours of Fall and Winter, we'll see an exceptionally colourful Spring.

W: Where do you see yourself in five years?

JG: Number one, I'd love to have some of my own stores. I also hope to penetrate Europe - we just debuted our collection in a  London showroom in early June and hope to establish a strong presence in the UK as well as the rest of Europe. We've been very lucky to have done so well in Canada and the United States, and now it's time to see how we do globally.  I hope to get into new product lines; costume jewellery is one area that I'm really starting to think about.

W: Fave City?

JG: Globally, New York is still my favourite city...Nothing beats the energy, there is nothing like it.

I love London because it's so many ways New York, and so many ways Europe. It's got a quirkiness that I adore...My mother was born in London so for me to go there it's like getting to see that cousin that I love but rarely get to visit.

I love to travel to places like LA. It's laid back and I feel like I'm on vacation.

W: Fave Hotel?

JG: L'Ermitage in LA is ridiculous. It does not get in any better when they knock on your door at 5:30 PM to deliver an h'ors d'oeuvre. I often stay in serious business hotels when I travel, but when I go with my wife it's part business, part pleasure...We love Claridge's in London. The whole high tea thing blows my mind. The history is so rich and it's such an institution, you have to try it!

I try to find place that help me relax as this business is so crazy and stressful.

I was in Newport Beach last year, doing a personal appearance for Neiman Marcus. Knowing Laguna Beach was just fifteen minutes away, I did my personal appearance and jumped in the car, stayed the weekend [in Laguna] and it was really chill.

Sara Graham, Fashion Forward
		About the author:
		When Malcolm Gladwell talks about “connectors,” he’s talking about Sara Graham. This gal-about-town made her mark spending five years in (and out) of publishing as Editor-in-Chief of Canada’s top teen magazines Vervegirl and FUEL. During the out part she created, designed and managed all aspects of Sister Underwear – a collection that was not only embraced by the Canadian fashion network of buyers, media and the public, but enjoyed repeat orders from boutiques located in the U.S. Although no longer deep in the publishing or fashion trenches, Sara remains curious and connected via her insatiable appetite for culture and travel. Sara also continues to produce fashion shoots through Project, her brand management company.