Nick Wooster hired by JCPenney

If you didn’t notice, this bomb dropped last Friday (copped from This Fits, copped from GQ, copped from the NY Post): Nick Wooster has been hired as the creative director behind JCPenney’s men's clothing line.

Assuming you’re a newbie to men's clothing, Wooster (or “Woost-God,” as he is colloquially referred to by GQ writers) is a menswear maven (and a native of Salina, KS). He was longtime creative director at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, released last year from Neiman Marcus for an openly frank appraisal of his position there (read, he said “fuck”). I can see how a company may not approve of that, but I personally appreciate when someone is candid in their self-expression. There’s plenty of people in this world, you can afford to piss a few off.

Nevertheless, the guy’s a style icon on and off the Internet, constantly gracing the pages of menswear blogs and street style Tumblrs. Smart move by JCPenney, where hopefully Wooster can invigorate their men’s line and inject a much-needed dose of style. With Penney’s far-reaching and affordably priced options, this could be a great collaboration. 

The cynic in me though can’t be quelled. Part of me thinks Wooster is over-qualified, like hiring Picasso to head McDonald’s ad department, and I worry that JCPenney will constrain him in pricing and overall creative direction. 

Still, the pairing has immense opportunity. So today I’m asking, what are your thoughts on JCPenney’s new hire?  Feel free to comment or email me directly, I love hearing from readers.

More news as it develops,

MD