J.McLaughlin intends to “amplify” its brand image and storytelling and has a new team on the case.

In July, Greg Unis, former president of the Victoria’s Secret and Pink divisions of Victoria’s Secret & Co., became chief executive officer, and recently, Lee Anne Henrico became chief creative officer, a broad new role at the brand in which she will oversee women’s and men’s design, product conception and creative marketing and communications. She reports to Unis.

Previously, Henrico served as senior vice president of design at the Vancouver, Canada-based Aritzia fashion chain. Before that, she spent more than a decade at Victoria’s Secret until 2020, most recently serving as senior vice president and creative director.

On Tuesday, Unis indicated that Henrico will shape the brand’s creative vision and seasonal storytelling to help grow J.McLaughlin, which turns 50 next year.

Kevin McLaughlin, cofounder of the brand along with his brother Jay, is remaining with the company on a full-time basis, but will no longer hold the title of chief creative officer, according to Unis.

“Kevin is still very involved,” he said. “His role has not changed. He’s involved in the general brand positioning and product.”

Unis also said McLaughlin will continue as a board member and in “guiding the brand…Lee Anne and I are both leveraging him in so many different ways,” he said. Jay McLaughlin left the company years ago.

On Friday, J. McLaughlin launches its new fall campaign, “Hello Fall, We Love You,” which will run through September and October. It’s Henrico’s first initiative at the company and was photographed in the Cobble Hill area of Brooklyn by Terence Connors, and in Millbrook, N.Y., by Jeff Allen. The campaign is rooted in the brand’s origins, features local spots, dogs and artists, and is considered a “360-degree” effort since it involves the catalogue, stores, paid digital/CTV, influencer activation, organic/paid social and retail events.

“Lee Anne has an exceptional ability to create product that inspires and to tell stories that resonate,” said Unis. “Her leadership will bring fresh creative energy to the brand while staying true to our DNA.”

Said Henrico, “J.McLaughlin is a brand with a rich heritage, distinct identity and strong connection to its customers. I look forward to building on that foundation to craft collections and experiences that feel both timeless and fresh.”

When he was named J.McLaughlin’s new CEO, succeeding Mary Ellen Coyne, who joined J.Jill, Unis told WWD, “We’ll scale the business, and drive creativity across all areas — product, marketing and customer experience. We’ve put together a strategic plan for the next three to five years. It’s a comprehensive, long-range plan in terms of brand, product, marketing, the customer, stores and digital, that gives us a map of where we’re working toward.”

Unis spoke of “amplifying who we are as a brand — that’s the starting point and then it’s about bringing together talent, [forming] new partnerships and collaborations, with people or brands that have a kind of a shared DNA, and connect with our kind of customer, but just in a broader way, in product categories that we’re not in. There’s a range of things we’re thinking about, always with two things in mind. Would it be capturing a new customer, or would it be about entering into categories you’re not already in?”

From the upcoming J.McLaughin neighborhood-inspired fall campaign shot in Brooklyn.