Noah's Brendon Babenzien is J.Crew new creative director

J.Crew has a new creative director: Brandon Babenzien, co-founder of Noah and former design director of Supreme. The appointment will serve to bring a new identity to the brand that has seen a decline in sales in recent years due to problems with the quality and design of its products. Babienzen's task, flanked by J.Crew Group CEO Libby Wadle, will be to: "redefine the iconic brand merging the vitality and creativity of today’s style subcultures with an innovative appreciation of classic men’s wear". The brand had seen the culmination of its success in the early 2000s, years in which its basics in full American style were remixed with items by Stüssy or Supreme by Babenzien himself and his friends, as he himself told GQ. 

Babenzien's first complete collection for J. Crew is expected to debut in the second half of 2022. The brand had not had a creative director since April 2017, when Frank Muytjens left the group. The result will undoubtedly be an update of J.Crew's classic repertoire, which will be infused with a new streetwear sensibility and a stronger aesthetic identity. Here's how Babienzen commented on the news of the appointment: 

My work at Supreme and Noah has really prepared me more for the business side of things — understanding merchandising and having a good handle on product development and timelines. But beyond that, what has really prepared me for this position is my personal life. I’ve been a lifelong J. Crew customer and my personal style is rooted in American culture.