Jay Bell is making a big jump.
The senior vice president and divisional merchandise manager of men’s designer, developing designer and contemporary sportswear at Barneys New York has been promoted to the top women’s buying role for the store.
Bell will replace Leah Kim, who is leaving the company. His new title will be executive vice president and general merchandise manager of women’s wear, a role he will take over on Aug. 6.
Since joining Barneys 18 years ago, Bell has been credited with helping the men’s division unearth emerging brands in the contemporary market. He is credited with discovering Amiri on Instagram and cultivating it to become one of the store’s largest men’s brands. In addition, he was among the first to champion luxury streetwear as a category and was responsible for securing many exclusive capsules for Barneys within the men’s area, including Greg Lauren with whom he collaborated to create an all-black collection. Bell has held that role for a decade and before that was senior buyer of men’s designer collections for eight years. Prior to joining Barneys, he was with Jil Sander America.
Related Galleries
“Throughout his stellar 18-year career at Barneys New York, Jay has been an accomplished merchant and an indispensable leader, successfully developing and curating our distinct men’s designer businesses, often discovering the next big brands,” said Jennifer Sunwoo, chief merchandising officer. “We are so pleased for him as he continues his career at Barneys as executive vice president, general merchandise manager of women’s, where he will bring his proven expertise to our women’s business.”
Barneys intends to replace Bell within the men’s department, but no successor has been named.
Kim had held the gmm role for one-and-a-half years. Before that, she had served as senior vice president and dmm for women’s ready-to-wear, and senior buyer for women’s designer. She joined the company in 1999.
Barneys has also hired Katherine Bahamonde Monasebian to be its new chief digital and technology officer. She will oversee the digital, e-commerce and information technology teams.
Daniella Vitale, chief executive officer and president of Barneys, said: “At Barneys New York, our technology drives our success — whether it’s in our stores or on barneys.com. Katherine’s expertise in building digital experiences and executing growth strategies make her the right choice to lead, and continue to evolve our technology initiatives into the future.”
Most recently, Monasebian was head of marketing and e-commerce for Alex & Ani, chief marketing officer and new business development manager for Tourneau and cmo and executive vice president of e-commerce for C. Wonder and Juicy Couture and Lululemon Athletica.