J.Crew

The New Debut Collection from Brendon Babenzien

The Drake’s Games Suit of its generation - J.Crew’s Ludlow was a suit for men who didn’t need to wear a suit for work, but that did so out of personal choice.

Modern preppy style with slim, simple detailing – right down to those slender, 1960’s Don Draper-like width lapels which seemed as timeless and as tasteful as an Old Fashioned when the Ludlow was released in 2008. Needless to say the tide of fashion, and the creative direction that had been such a catalyst to J.Crew’s success, would change. Over the next few years (like the proportion of men on Instagram who drank Negronis) accepted lapel-width grew exponentially. After J.Crew filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, and suits all but disappeared from the public consciousness due to the pandemic, the only man in fashion still wearing anything resembling a skinny lapel was James Bond - and he’d been filmed in his TF suit some time before Covid delayed No Time to Die’s release.

Yesterday, J.Crew Men’s unveiled the new collection from streetwear designer Brendon Babenzien, the ex-Supreme Supremo who has been tasked with turning around the fate of the brand. Whilst the Ludlow still exists, the proportion and fabric choice seems more modern (a new Kenmare-style has recently been added to the range too). It’s not only lapels that are getting wider – rather than be behind the times on fit again, roomier cut “giant chinos” recognise the prevailing wind and push at the boundaries of current trouser-fit, resembling the wide-leg skate-wear inspired trousers that the Ludlow (and the general slim-fit trousers that followed) were a reaction against: The type that you’d see being worn by taste-maker Andy Spade (coincidentally, one of those most responsible for J.Crew’s initial success). In this, more than an attempt to simply turn back the clock, I like how the collection brings different converging trends together in the way that J.Crew once did better than anyone. In addition, they reprise a design acumen and artistic taste which informs the brand and gives it an identity that competitors on price (such as SuitSupply) still lack. If you haven’t already, check out the look book at www.jcrew.com