Brendon Babenzien Exits J.Crew as Men’s Creative Director to Focus on Noah

Brendon Babenzien has stepped down as Men’s Creative Director at J.Crew to focus full time on his label Noah, an exit he announced in an Instagram post shared by Noah on Wednesday, February 17. Hypebeast reported the departure is effective immediately, and J.Crew has not yet named a successor, leaving the menswear division at a strategic crossroads as it seeks to maintain momentum under CEO Libby Wadle.

Babenzien’s run at J.Crew began in mid-2021; accounts vary on the precise start, with Hypebeast saying he joined in May 2021 and Business of Fashion reporting he was hired by Libby Wadle in July 2021. His first J.Crew menswear collection arrived in July 2022, when he told Business of Fashion he aspired for J.Crew to come back to a time when it "made the best possible products." Outlets have described his tenure variously as four years, nearly five years, and five years, reflecting the mid-2021 start and his February 2026 departure.

The visible traces of Babenzien’s aesthetic are concrete. He guided J.Crew toward a neo-prep revival that leaned on 1990s archives and heritage silhouettes, reintroducing the oarsman logo and bringing back the Wallace & Barnes sub-label. He oversaw the return of the J.Crew Catalog and helped open the new men’s flagship on Bond Street, a retail experience complete with a coffee bar and occasional celebrity sit-downs. GQ catalogued his hits, citing the "Genuinely Viral Chinos" and the "Giant-Fit Chino Pant $118" among five defining J.Crew designs from his era.

Stylistically, Babenzien’s imprint was to educate mainstream shoppers in classic menswear touches. As GQ put it, he spent his tenure "educating everyday shoppers on the virtues of tweed blazers, pleated trousers, and, yes, pants that don’t taper like an ice cream cone." That blend of accessible education and archive revival helped reposition J.Crew’s menswear after the retailer’s Chapter 11 chapter and subsequent turnaround efforts.

Noah will be Babenzien’s full-time focus. He founded Noah in 2002 and relaunched it in 2015; today the brand operates a flagship in New York and brick-and-mortar outposts in Seoul, Tokyo, and Osaka. Hypebeast noted he runs Noah with his wife, Estelle Bailey-Babenzien, and that he is expected to shift his full attention back to the independent label. The Instagram post itself stated, in the fragment published by outlets, "Brendon Babenzien, designer of the men's collection at J. Crew, is stepping away to focus full time on Noah, the label he cofounded 10 years" — a truncated line that underscores his intent to recommit to the brand.

J.Crew leadership remains under Libby Wadle, with Olympia Gayot credited with revitalizing the women's business, but the menswear leadership gap is immediate and tangible. With no replacement announced, the brand faces decisions about preserving Babenzien’s neo-prep momentum or charting a new course. Whether J.Crew shops the archive-forward formula he installed or hands the reins to a divergent vision, Babenzien’s designs will remain visible in stores and catalogs as the company searches for what comes next.