Somsack Sikhounmuong on designing for Alex Mill and life after J. Crew

After 16 years at J. Crew, Somsack Sikhounmuong switched to a much smaller company to design clothes for Alex Mill. But he's remaining close to the Drexler family.

"I always joke that he's my fairy god agent," said Sikhounmuong about Mickey Drexler, the former CEO of J. Crew Group.

During a sabbatical after his work at J. Crew and Madewell, the J. Crew subsidiary that continues to outshine its parent company, Sikhounmuong got a phone call from Mickey Drexler: "I was in line at Whole Foods, because I wasn't working and I could be in line at Whole Foods in the afternoon," he said. Mickey asked him to meet with his son Alex Drexler about designing for Alex's company, Alex Mill, for which Mickey Drexler is both an investor and an advisor.

On the Glossy Podcast, Sikhounmuong discussed his work for Alex Mill, which was founded in 2012 out of "a tiny store on Elizabeth Street." Sikhounmuong also talked about the difference between designing clothes for women versus men, the transition from a massive company to a startup, and the experience of interviewing with J. Crew's Jenna Lyons.