Fashion & Beauty

Red carpet rebel!

As starlets walked the red carpet for the Met Costume Institute Gala in May in showstopping, carpet-grazing gowns, a statuesque brunette took her place in front of the frenetic shutterbugs.

Photographers snapped away at the gorgeous woman, even though she was wearing a bright pink satin skirt paired with — gasp! — a denim jacket.

That woman was J.Crew president and executive creative director Jenna Lyons, 44, whose unlikely mix of textures, colors and classics has inspired legions of women to follow suit.

PHOTOS: JENNA LYONS’ STYLES

The love affair began in 2008 when J.Crew splashed its then little-known creative director across the pages of its catalog, which had always been a staple with the collegiate crowd. Named “Jenna’s Picks,” the feature was a curated look at her quirky must-haves — and the result was a style alchemy that rewrote the fashion rule book.

“[Jenna’s Picks] showed you a different way to style classic pieces,” says Christine Whitney, fashion news editor of Harper’s Bazaar.

And it resonated with the masses.

Lyons became the face of the once-staid preppy brand, appearing on “Oprah” and on red carpets, and inspiring oodles of tribute blogs with names like thejcrewreview.

This spring, Lyons, who has spent her entire career with J.Crew, quit her popular “Picks” feature, but her influence endures.

“She’s a fashion personality now,” explains Whitney. “She is someone street photographers always want to shoot [and then] it goes out into the zeitgeist.”

With Fashion Week kicking off Thursday, we pay tribute to Lyons’ most influential style tricks.