A style icon of the 2010s, Jenna Lyons is undergoing a resurgence
The 55-year-old beauty brand founder is arguably the breakout star of the rebooted Real Housewives of New York City, but the show is nowhere near as intense as her previous life.
It’s fair to say Jenna Lyons is keeping it real. “I’m driving back from the beach,” Lyons says, speaking on the phone as she leaves the Hamptons en route to New York City after the weekend. “I’m going back to the city, then I’m turning back around.”
The 55-year-old is arguably the breakout star of the rebooted Real Housewives of New York City — and an unlikely one at that. The reality series has catapulted Lyons — the founder of eyelash brand, LoveSeen, and former executive creative director and president of US fashion chain, J Crew — from cult figure to the mainstream. “I don’t really think of my career as The Real Housewives,” Lyons says. “I just happen to be on this show. My life at J Crew was way crazier, this has actually been fine. It’s not anywhere as intense as my previous life.”
So how is she coping with the newfound attention? “It’s hard, I think it’s harder than I anticipated,” Lyons says. “[The show] played on all of my insecurities and the ways that I struggle and so, I can’t say that I enjoyed it. I’m really glad I did it and I learnt a lot from the process. I don’t regret it. It’s been great for my business which was what the intent was. I really appreciate that. It’s a very strange process for sure.”
Lyons has been credited for breaking the typical “real housewife” mould. On-screen, she has been open about her sexuality (and keeps who she dates private), challenged her castmates on dressing for the male gaze, and — in a scene that went viral (partly due to co-star Jessel Taank’s obvious shock) — revealed her real name is “Judith”.
“I don’t really read any of the comments or any of the stuff,” Lyons says. “I am a little bit in the dark about whether something is resonating. I do see some of the memes but most of them are me calling Jessel out for wearing two labels at a time.
“There is no question that that scene where they are encouraging me to dress ‘sexy’ and dress ‘different’ — it’s funny to be, because they’re using their lens. The lens that they have, I don’t think they realise, is completely male generated. I understand it and I did it for years — I am not calling them out on it. It’s just not the lens I have now.”
In another viral moment, Lyons mused over an outfit she wore to the Met Gala in 2011, and to singer (and Beyonce’s sister) Solange Knowles’ wedding — a feathered, floor-length skirt (she teamed the custom piece with a Prada fur jacket and white Celine shirt). On RHONY, Lyons said she might even be buried in it. “People have offered to buy it and I’m like, absolutely not,” Lyons tells The Australian.
“I will wear it again, I’m not sure what for or when, but it will come out. It is by far one of my favourite pieces. At some point it will make an appearance. It’s really delicate. You can gently dance, but you shouldn’t. I mean, I danced at Solange’s wedding. It’s feathers, it’s so damn hot.”
A style icon of the 2010s, Lyons’s career is one of fashion folklore: she went from intern at J Crew to the retailer’s top job, rising through the ranks for 27 years (she left in 2017). In 2020, she launched her own business, LoveSeen — a line of false eyelashes stocked in Australia at mega beauty retailer Mecca and inspired, in part, by Lyons’ own experience with “incontinentia pigmenti”, a medical condition that affects the growth of lashes.
“I have a genetic disorder … and one of the side effects of that disorder is that I don’t have any eyelashes or, really, eyebrows,” Lyons says. “I was really tuned into everyone who had beautiful eyelashes — I noticed that a lot of the women in the office, when I was at J Crew, were coming in wearing eyelash extensions, and that was a sort of new thing 6-7 years ago. It was at the same time, these women were pretty natural in their makeup, but they were very focused on these eyelashes.
LoveSeen has found a dedicated fan base in Australia via Mecca, Lyons says. “Your image and how you see yourself can be really linked to your self-esteem,” she says, reflecting on modern beauty standards. “Anything we can do to transform our face and make the way that we look more the way we desire to be seen in the mirror is important. What you see in the mirror can often be very powerful to the way you see yourself.
“I don’t think of it [LoveSeen] as a brand for people who have a condition — I happen to have one, and that is what gave me the impetus. There are so many people who have thin lashes and they want something more … but not necessarily going for something so over the top or [lashes] that sort of arrive before they do. I really understand that. It can be about emphasising … what you already have. And that, to me, is powerful.”
Though Lyons was born and bred in California, she embodies the fast-talking, sharply dressed image of a New Yorker. The city, Lyons says, influenced her road to self-acceptance. “Even when I first arrived in New York years ago, I never felt that I had to look a certain way,” Lyons says. “I grew up in California and everyone had blonde hair, blue eyes, was tanned, in a bathing suit. The girls all wore perfect jeans and t-shirts and I just never looked good that way, and I always felt unattractive.
“It wasn’t until I moved to New York and I saw a completely different idea of beauty that was much more diverse and welcoming,” Lyons says, adding: “You could be anything!” “You could be a goth chick, a punk girl, an Upper East Side debutante look. Everything went and everything had a match. It inspired me to be more myself. And really appreciate different types of beauty.”
The Real Housewives is not Lyons’ first move into TV. She hosted Stylish with Jenna Lyons, a fashion reality series in 2020, and before that, an acting role on Lena Dunham’s generation-defining series, Girls. In it, Lyons played Janice, the commercial editor of GQ who employed Dunham‘s character, Hannah Horvath (Lyons knew Dunham socially), with Lyons making her acting debut in the episode titled “Free Snacks”.
In one scene, Dunham’s Hannah — not satisfied writing advertorials — tries to quit, and Lyons deadpans: “I’m putting copper pipes in my house. I really can’t deal with this right now … you want to just email me and let me know if you still work here?” Reflecting on her role in Girls, Lyons calls it “actually one of the most fun things I have ever done”. “It is a little obscure,” she says. “I find there are a lot of people who have no idea that ever happened.”
Lyons is also a respected name in interior design — showing off the eclectic styling of her Soho home on RHONY. “I had gotten a lot of press on my previous house in Brooklyn and I have been asked my friends to do houses and apartments,” Lyons says. “A room, a whole house, a colour scheme idea, furniture layout”
“It’s been so fun, it’s very similar to what I did at J Crew styling people — you’re kind of helping them make decisions. I am doing two homes from start to finish.”
So what is Lyons’ no-fail home styling advice — for any space? “Every light has to be on a dimmer,” she says, matter-of-factly. “And in any kind of space that is not task-oriented, meaning it’s not an office, and it’s not a bathroom, zero overhead light. Like, get all of the light off the ceiling, bring it down. Table lamps, floor lamps, soft, glowy light — light candles. Just by doing that you can change the feel of a space, immediately. Lighting is architecture and it can make or break a space in a heartbeat.”
As for whether Lyons will return to The Real Housewives of New York City for a second season, Lyons pauses: “It’s so early … we’ll see. Who knows if they’ll even want us back! It takes a lot of people to make it work. What I like about it is that everyone seems to have [a cast member] who they are attached to. “Everyone’s got their person. To me, it says they did a good job at casting.”
LoveSeen is available at Mecca. The Real Housewives of New York City airs on Binge.