Banana Republic's Marissa Webb Wants You to Feel Empowered
“True inspiration to me is where we’re going as an brand,” Creative Director Marissa Webb told us at her presentation for Banana Republic yesterday. The clothes, which featured plenty of outwear in chic shades of gray, forest green, and deep scarlet, were derived from several trips that she took with her design team to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Paris, and London.
"They were going to places they’ve never been before,” said Webb. “I told them, go look at the water, go look at the architecture. They had never done that before so that was really cool.”
This marked Webb’s second season as the chief creative behind Banana Republic’s new look, and it’s working. (She previously worked with Jenna Lyons designing the women’s collection for J.Crew, and also has her own eponymous label.) The mix of military coats, boyfriend blazers, turtlenecks (a reoccurring staple this season), and slouchy menswear-inspired trousers felt fresh and infinitely wearable. There were also pops of pink throughout—Webb admitted to being a fan of the color and even turned up the heat with a cocoon dress in a neon hue. “Powder pink has always been a big favorite of mine,” she said. “I’ve seen so many women that can’t wear color, and they put that on and it’s almost like a neutral.”
The collection also included a cute accessory in the form of a black clutch with “Quote Me” in bold white letters. The bag will certainly appeal to the younger, social media-obsessed generation. “I think it’s very important what we say and the voice you put out there,” continued Webb. “I put a lot of quotes on my own Instagram. So the design team came to me and said, Oh we’re thinking of doing maybe ‘Don’t Quote Me.’ And I said, something doesn’t feel right so I crossed off the don’t. It’s a do! Quote me. I want you to feel positive, I want you to feel empowered. So if you say don’t quote me, that’s coming off as saying I’m not feeling confident. If you say quote me, then you do feel confident. That’s a good message.”
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