BRENDON BABENZIEN
WHO IS BRENDON BABENZIEN?
Brendon Babenzien is the founder of the environmentally-conscious American-based menswear brand Noah clothing. He is also the former creative director of Supreme – James Jebbia’s streetwear and skate culture behemoth, arguably the most influential streetwear brand of all time. As of 2022, Brendon Babenzien is the new creative director of the clothing brand J.Crew’s menswear line in an attempt to transform J.Crew and bring it back to its glory days.
Babenzien founded the Noah clothing brand in 2002 but shuttered it a few years later. In 2015, Brendon Babenzien and his wife Estelle Bailey-Babenzien relaunched the Noah clothing as a nautical-inspired label with heritage-infused designs with a strong focus on sustainability.
Babenzien’s streetwear trajectory is long and notable, starting out working at his local surf-skate shop as a teenager. Babenzien moved to Miami from New York in the early 90s to help his friend Don Busweiler with his clothing brand. After that, he joined Supreme as a product developer/designer in 1996.
WHEN WAS BRENDON BABENZIEN BORN?
Brendon Babenzien was born in 1972.
WHERE IS BRENDON BABENZIEN FROM?
East Islip, New York, US.
WHERE DOES BRENDON BABENZIEN LIVE?
Brendon Babenzien lives in New York, US, with his wife Estelle Bailey-Babenzien and their daughter Sailor.
WHO IS THE OWNER OF NOAH CLOTHING?
Brendon Babenzien and his wife Estelle Bailey-Babenzien.
WHEN DID BRENDON BABENZIEN JOIN SUPREME?
Brendon Babenzien’s Supreme journey started in 1996, two years after Supreme was founded by James Jebbia. Together they shaped and transformed the Supreme brand into a cult streetwear brand now recognized worldwide. After landing at Supreme in the mid-’90s, Babenzien was responsible for about 15 years of designs and their subsequent hype.
WHAT IS BRENDON BABENZIEN'S NOAH CLOTHING?
Noah clothing is an environmentally conscious clothing brand that Brendon Babenzien founded in 2002 after he departed Supreme. However, he shut it down and returned to Supreme as design director a few years later. In 2015, he left the Supreme again to relaunch Noah.
Born in Long Island, New York, Babenzien was exposed to coastal lifestyles and brands, including Nautica, Sperry, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger. It ultimately had an effect on the Noah clothing brand’s creative direction.
Noah clothing fuses the rebellious nature of skate, surf, and music subcultures with an appreciation of classic menswear and the weatherbeaten, nautical aesthetic of sailors and fishermen. It is clothes that have a function. Some notable collaborations include Mr. Porter, SSENSE, Golden Bear, and GREATS, and teamed up with photographer Michael Muller.
HOW IS BRENDON BABENZIEN SUSTAINABLE?
Highlighting exploitative labor practices and mindless consumption, Brendon Babenzien, with his sustainable clothing brand Noah has set out to help shift the cultural understanding of ‘cool’ and promote more ‘intelligent consumption. As a customer, you are encouraged to bring your Noah pieces back once you are done wearing them and tell what you did with them (and you’ll get a discount on your next piece).
1991 - 1992
In the early 90s, Babenzien moved to Miami from New York to help his friend Don Busweiler with his clothing brand.
1996
Babenzien moved back to New York from Miami and joined Supreme next to its founder, James Jebbia, who founded the brand in 1994, to work on its product development and creative direction.
2002
Brendon Babenzien left Supreme to launch his own brand, NOAH clothing, taking inspiration from skate, surf, coastal lifestyles, and music subcultures with a twist on classic menswear and nautical aesthetic.
2006
Brendon Babenzien returned to Supreme as design director.
2007
Babenzien closed his NOAH clothing brand.
2015
Babenzien left Supreme the second time.
Brendon Babenzien and his wife Estelle Bailey-Babenzien relaunched the NOAH clothing brand, combining two talents of clothing and interior design. The designer couple restarted the brand with a store in New York focusing more on sustainability.
He also took over the creative direction of Pharrell Williams Billionaire Boys Club’s high-end line, Bee Line.
2018
Teamed up with photographer Michael Muller in 2018 to create a line of T-shirts highlighting the number of sharks killed annually.
2019
In April, Noah featured a two-week installation at the Galeries Lafayette Champs Elysées in Paris in honor of Earth Day.
2021
Brendon Babenzien was named the new creative director of the J.Crew menswear line.
Brendon Babenzien’s Noah clothing SS21 collection was released in February.
2022
Babenzien’s J.Crew collaborated with BEAMS bringing together utilitarian staples of both brands.
Babenzien’s Noah clothing and Barbour collaborate, fusing British outerwear with New York’s street aesthetic.
Noah’s FW22 collection featured wooly mix-and-match tailoring, cashmere shirts, pleated trousers, and chunky cable-knit cardigans.
Noah clothing and Vans team up, releasing a suede Vans Slip-On capsule.
In September, Brendon Babenzien’s J.Crew concept store opened in the NY Nolita district.
Brendon Babenzien’s debut collection for J. Crew FW22 combines nostalgia with contemporary designs.
