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Somsack Sikhounmuong Is Back—and He's Launching Affordable Womenswear at Alex Mill

If you shopped at Madewell between 2013 and 2015 or at sister company J.Crew between 2015 and 2017, you’ve appreciated the work of Somsack Sikhounmuong. The designer had a much-celebrated 16-year career at the company, serving as Madewell’s head of design before replacing Jenna Lyons as chief creative officer of J.Crew. But in September 2017, he left—and has mostly been out of the design spotlight since.

Though he did take some time to travel and not be the creative director of a major American fashion brand, Sikhounmuong has been working behind the scenes on an exciting new fashion project: the creative relaunch of Alex Mill, co-designed with the brand’s founder, Alex Drexler.

Alex Mill is a brand Sikhounmuong not only has a professional connection to—Alex Drexler, who cofounded it in 2012, is the son of former CEO and chairman of the J.Crew Group Mickey Drexler—but also shops at, personally. “I’d always appreciated the brand tenets, whether it was quality or [making] easy clothes for everybody,” Sikhounmuong says. He and the elder Drexler had kept in touch, even after both had left the company. (Drexler departed his position as CEO in 2017, before Sikhounmuong; earlier this year, he stepped down as chairman of the board, but remains an advisor for J.Crew Group.) “He called me up one day and asked if I’d be interested in meeting Alex of Alex Mill. I was like, Yeah, of course—I’d always been a huge fan of the brand, and I [thought I] probably should start looking for something soon,” Sikhounmuong remembers.

For his part, Alex Drexler was interested in Sikhounmuong’s background in women’s design—until now, Alex Mill has only offered menswear, but women have expressed interest in its pieces. It felt like a natural next step for the company, especially with Sikhounmuong on board. Alex Mill’s inaugural women’s collection, for spring 2019, offers “easy clothes, uncomplicated clothes—clothes that you look at and don’t have to think too much [about],” he says. Translation? Tons of pockets.

Courtesy of Alex Mill

Like its menswear, Alex Mill’s womenswear is made up of a laser-focused collection of pieces. “We were talking as a team [about how] people don’t really need more clothes—they just need the right clothes,” Sikhounmuong says. “It’s not five or six pairs of pants. You don’t need a lot to look good. You might just need these few pieces and every season you come back and collect a few more.” It’s a strategy he’s learned about and adopted since joining Alex Mill, and it’ll affect what you see with every coming season: “[Each collection] will be a buildup of the last season. It’s about taking things that we love and not abandoning them, but [rather] tweaking them. For spring, we have this short jacket; in the fall, you’ll see it in a new color and in denim. Sometimes we’ll look at something and [decide] we don’t tweak it—it’s okay to not have to change things every season, because it’s much simpler that way.”

Sikhounmuong’s time off after J.Crew has had an influence on how he approaches this collection too. “I remember thinking every single day how I loved how much time I had, and [thinking about] how to maintain that once I took a job,” he says. “The idea of these clothes is that, hopefully, they’ll save time—you don’t have to overthink what you’re going to wear, so you [can] do other things. You just get up, put it on, and don’t overthink it.”

Somsack Sikhounmuong Is Backand He's Launching Affordable Womenswear at Alex Mill — Courtesy of Alex Mill

In all of Sikhounmuong’s design work, his aim is to create pieces that are approachable and accessible. One of Alex Mill’s mottos is “uniforms for individuals”—the brand interprets “uniform” not as clothes that makes everyone look the same, but rather as outfits that simplify your life. Individuality comes in through small customizable elements incorporated into the design: pins that can be added or removed, hearts stitched between buttons on a blouse that can be revealed or hidden, ties on a trench coat that can be closed or left hanging. The pricing of the collection also aligns with that goal: Everything’s under $200, with most pieces between $35 and $175.

Fans of Sikhounmuong’s work will be happy to know that one of his signatures made it into his first Alex Mill collection. “It’s funny—every time I show this stuff to people, the shirts always come up,” he says. “I always love a great shirt, whether it’s vintage shirt or men’s or oversized.” The Alex Mill version of the classic button-down are pretty standard when it comes to the cut, but are set apart by “very subtle points of designs” (like the hearts between buttons) that bring an emotional element to them.

“These pieces are built to fold into your own existing closet—a lot of these pieces are ones that are going to be in there forever, hopefully,” he says. “I think so much of this stuff is meant to bring joy. I get that that phrase has sort of been played a lot, but honestly, it’s so true; there are so many things out there that are serious, whether it’s clothing or whatever, and it’s always nice to see something that just makes you smile. It’s just that emotional connection that makes you want to buy something or participate in the brand.”

Alex Mill’s Sikhounmuong-designed collection drops today on the brand’s website, as well as retailers like Nordstrom, Barneys New York, and Goop. Check out the full lookbook and product offering below.

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Low-Rise Jeans Are Coming Back—and That's OK

Last year ended with a type of fashion revelation that suited a year oft compared to a raging garbage fire: Low-rise jeans are coming back.

The fault was our own, as a people. I mean, yes, in November, Jennifer Lopez was seen wearing a pair of wide-leg thong pants, first spotted on the Natasha Zinko runway in February. But even before that, brands like Kith Sport, Baja East, Fenty Puma by Rihanna, and Tom Ford had used their spring 2018 collections to reintroduce the style (“style”) most of us left in both the past and our nightmares. Alas, the momentum kept building: Kirk Miller of Linder NYC used both the spring 2018 and spring 2019 runways to pair low-rise bottoms with visible bikini bottoms or undergarments.

In December, Miller told The Cut that he felt the look would likely be popular with those who embrace wearable irony. And that makes sense: For years we’ve romanticized all aspects of ’90s style, so the trash-tastic first decade of the 200s are naturally what’s next. It didn’t take long for this trend (“trend”) to spread beyond the runways, with brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Current/Elliott, and AMO as well as influencers like the Hadid sisters letting low-rise jeans into their hearts (Hadid sisters) and upcoming collections (Abercrombie & Fitch, Current/Elliott, and AMO.)

This was a horrifying development for those of us who lived through the aughts of the 2000s.

PHOTO: Frederick M. Brown

Then: Paris Hilton, in all her Y2K (fashion) glory

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Then: Eva Longoria at an early-2000s film premiere, in the early-2000s uniform

13911533 — PHOTO: Time & Life Pictures

Then: Christina Aguilera, modeling the baby tank/low-rise jean combo that defined an era

My own teens and early twenties were defined by pants inspired by 2003 Britney or Stripped-Era Christina. I looked to Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Mischa Barton as fashion gods. I lived for nights out where I could pair distressed low-rise denim with pointy-toe kitten heels and belts that looked like neckties. (FASHION!)

Of course, as the dawn of the 2010s approached, I began to grow out of the style that defined part of my youth, as one tends to do. I welcomed higher rises and skinny-legged jeans with open arms, and vowed never to wear anything that required me to put real thought into what underwear I was wearing (outside of whether it was comfortable and I liked it). In short, I graduated to adulthood.

178359 — PHOTO: KMazur

Then: Destiny’s Child—one low-rise jean, three ways

What’s shocking about the low-rise comeback is that we’re shocked at all. As the cliché goes, everything old is new again. The cyclical nature of trends dictates that at some point, we’ll come face-to-face with the worst parts of our pasts, or at least the styles some of us (hi) equate most with being young, foolish, and hopelessly unaware that just because a type of pants exists doesn’t mean you have to wear it.

But recognizing that trends are cyclical doesn’t make the resurrection of one any easier. Graduating to adulthood meant that we got to leave low-rise jeans in our youths, nestled among our comically tiny purses and Von Dutch hats. It feels too soon to be reminded of who we used to be—or for our earnest attempts at Fashion™ to be worn today as irony.

I think that partly explains the backlash (and quiet obsession) with the comeback of the low-rise jean, and why the internet quickly begged the fashion gods to reconsider. But as much as I’ve learned from my past fashion mistakes, I’m—wait for it—welcoming the new low-rise trend.

PHOTO: Melodie Jeng

Now: Fran Summers, offering a modern interpretation of Aguilera’s formula—a cropped top with a slouchy-fit, low-slung jean.

775187607MS606_Street_Style — PHOTO: Matthew Sperzel

Now: Joyce Mao, combining the beloved distressed fit with the nostalgic waist.

PHOTO: Melodie Jeng

Now: Lakshmi Menon, making the low-rise jean comeback look easy.

For one, the 2019 version of the low-rise jean suggests that there’s a way to participate in the trend without wearing yours with 42 henleys or polo shirts—nor do your pants need to be too tight and too flared. These updated styles reflect a more relaxed approach: wider legs, looser fits, an invitation to dress denim up or down. Models like Joyce Mao, Fran Summers, and Lakshmi Menon have started incorporating it into their off-duty looks, with button-down shirts and flat sandals or minimal tube tops and sneakers, in a way that’s understated—and un-ironic. (For the record, some brands now refer to them as low-slung jeans.)

More importantly, though, the way we talk about fashion has changed. Unlike in the aughts, there’s less of a zest for fashion police, and there’s also less pressure to favor a particular trend merely because everybody else is. In 2019, fashion has come to prioritize the self-expression over glorified style rules; we’re freer to choose clothes that fit our body rather than force our body to fit the clothes. We feel more agency to decide what we wear.

Celebrity Sightings in New York City - July 18, 2017 — PHOTO: Raymond Hall

Now: Bella Hadid, epitomizing the modern low-rise jean—relaxed and different *enough* to make you reconsider

Ten years ago it was common to emulate famous style stars, to pour ourselves into a mold and hope we emerge looking A-list (whatever that means). But today famous people are an aesthetic jumping-off point. Bella Hadid may wear low-rise jeans with a cropped button-up, but her approach to pants represents one choice. J.Lo may don a low-rise wide-leg trouser with a visible thong, but that’s merely another example of how they can work.

It’s not like anyone is telling us to fish our kitten heels, pastel polos (layered, of course), and necktie belts out of the closet and begin dressing the way we did before we found the pieces that made us feel best. Low-rise pants in 2019 can be as ironic, as bold, or as exhibitionist as you want. Kind of how “nineties style” doesn’t consist only of floral babydoll dresses or bucket hats and Adidas pants.

If, like me, you know you can’t go back to wearing the same pieces you did over a decade ago, don’t. Our own personal fashion condemnations can be our own, but they shouldn’t dictate fashion norms. After all, who are any of us to deprive someone from experiencing the low-rise? How else will we learn?

Anne T. Donahue is a writer based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter at @annetdonahue.

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