It’s students who protest; young people who start bands and throw bricks. Brendon Babenzien with his wife, Estelle Bailey-Babenzien, and their daughter, Sailor. We don’t need to be the biggest clothing brand in the world. Aggressiveness often softens with time. "Brendon Babenzien Hopes That His New Brand Noah Will Allow The Customer To Express Personal Style". “If I feel great about it and everyone feels miserable, I failed. Brendon Babenzien. He debated with his wife Estelle whether the plastic container from her subscription lunch service violates the rules of Noah’s “Plastic Free Week” (for the second straight year, the staff is attempting to go a week avoiding using any single-use plastics—cups, utensils, bowls, bags—to honor World Oceans Day). But where Supreme is often intentionally vague about its allusions (Emily Oberg famously clowned Supreme lineups where customers weren’t aware of the artists Supreme was namechecking), Noah is often up-front. It’s actually really narrow. “I don’t want to abandon things that look good. Crew; Noah is for guys who grew out of Supreme. The same way youth culture has always taken traditional clothing and made it punk. We talked about the strong, tidal pull of the soundtrack to teenage-hood. If we can support ourselves, make a product we love, create content that’s fun, build respect? It’s students who protest; young people who start bands and throw bricks. Filed Under: Brendon Babenzien, NOAH, Profiles, supreme, The Cure, cost breakdowns on labor, fabric, and tariffs, Emily Oberg famously clowned Supreme lineups where customers weren’t aware of the artists Supreme was namechecking, they published a piece and extensive photos explaining the relevance of the band to the brand, The PTO Shop Fall Collection: Bright College Days, How To Tell If Soft Tailoring Is Right For You, A Suggestion For Your First Good Pair Of Shoes. At Put This On, we often talk about the style of artists and musicians. If you can survive that time, and understand that whatever negative thing happens during those years, get some perspective on it and turn it around? I have a choice.”. Brendon Babenzien has another perspective. Babenzien believes strongly in the link between lasting style and the cultural environment in which it flourishes — that good style is the smoke from the fire of creativity and newness. Younger people potentially discover something they didn’t know about; they can decide whether they care or not.”. We blew it. They’ve already dealt with sticking to your guns. Same applies to clothing. But that stuff really stuck with me. It leans preppy and sporty, but recontextualizes some of those references — one corduroy fabric is leopard printed; a deep pile fleece sweatshirt isn’t polyester but a wool/silk blend from Loro Piana. After years as creative director at Supreme — as it grew from a clubby skate shop with a small in-house clothing line into one of the biggest brands in the world — it was fatherhood and the state of the world that drove him to launch his own line, Noah, in his 40s. I have penny loafers, and Doc Martens, and canvas sneakers. “Clothing doesn’t spring from something else that’s happening creatively? Right now, Babenzien seems satisfied with what he’s been able to do with Noah since it launched four years ago — Noah now has two stores, one in New York and one in Tokyo, and sells through a handful of specialty boutiques, such as Dover Street Market and Union Los Angeles. The business doesn’t need to overwhelm us; I’m not calling you at home at 11 pm about a t-shirt.”, “Having a child completely changed the way I do this. “Some of it is selfish. HYPEBEAST. We’re not left with a lot of time for niceties.”, Babenzien’s strong opinions show through in both the brand’s designs and how Noah frames them. Bands get exposure to a new audience. I have tons of shit. “The stuff I could never part with? What began as a pop-up shop grew into its New York flagship and three other locations in London, LA and Tokyo. If I act irresponsibly, it will have an impact on young peoples futures. Lehrer, Adam. Now I go back to find ones I’ve lost over the years, vintage shirts.”, Making new clothes that function as merch for those bands works out for Noah and the bands. Without a strong cultural movement, clothing has less meaning. All of it. “I’ve been in this business for 33 years. Knowledge is a key factor in Noah’s designs, much like Supreme’s. Music helps you get through that stuff.”, Babenzien may have narrowed his closet down, but he holds onto the souvenirs of music. Last season Noah made a chore coat and rugby in bright floral prints. Babenzien has done runs of clothing with specific groups he grew up with, including the Cure, Fishbone, and Youth of Today. We get to create some really cool stuff. Husband and wife Brendon Babenzien and Estelle Bailey-Babenzien relaunched clothing brand Noah in May 2015. Brendon's ethnicity is unknown, whose political affiliation is currently a registered None; and religious views are listed as unknown. “I respect dressing for the occasion — where am I going, who’s going to be there. Through those choices, they dictate the use of resources. You’ll have musical moments, but the music you listen from 13-20 forms you completely as a person. All in under 30 minutes and soundtracked by bouncy reggae. At that time, I was listening to music that spoke to me, who felt like an outsider.”. During our visit to New York a few months ago we decided to stop by Brendon Babenzien's new shop "NOAH," in Soho. I look at skateboarding and punk, rave culture, hip hop, surfing … I don’t see real true indications of culture in everything that’s come around in the last five years. Noah also seems to occupy an analogous place in the market. Brendon Babenzien with his wife, Estelle Bailey-Babenzien, and their daughter, Sailor. They dictate the behaviors of business. And to run it his own way. When Noah made a collection with Big Audio Dynamite in 2018, they published a piece and extensive photos explaining the relevance of the band to the brand. We no longer have time to be polite about it. Noah's Brendon Babenzien On Why It Made Sense to Work with Nordstrom ( All the content you need to see you through this period of self-isolation. Our New York City flagship will be closed today through Wednesday, August 14th. You don’t want to leave good things behind; you just have to reinvent how people think about them.”. But fashion sprung out of other creative endeavors. Babenzien has a staff of about 30, and has striven to build a workplace that’s satisfying. Outerwear winks at old Ralph Lauren designs. Of course, I’m also older; it could just pass me by. Their Instagram also has cost breakdowns on labor, fabric, and tariffs to explain the cost of their clothes, which is higher than mall-style retailers but lower than luxury/designer brands. He is also the former creative director of Supreme – James Jebbia’s streetwear and … Nothing wrong with adhering to guidelines that exist. T-shirt designs visually footnote albums, artists, and movements. Forbes. How people are treated. Noah is an American men's clothing brand founded by Brendon Babenzien, based out of its flagship store on 195 Mulberry St. in Soho, New York City. Complex. Aggressiveness often softens with time. The brand, originally founded in 2002 by Babenzien, was relaunched with a greater sustainability focus. I need to have a Barbour jacket, for example. Images below from Noah’s Fall/Winter 2019 lookbook. But, do your thing. Noah’s made “Anti-Nazi League” t-shirts, and this fall dropped a t-shirt emblazoned with “Buy American” and an illustration in the style of mid-century magazine ads or children’s books. It all matters.”, “Even my wife sometimes thinks I’m too hardcore. If I didn’t start a business that operated in a responsible way, I’d feel like a terrible father. Her future is gonna be affected by the decisions we make, not just as individuals but in the businesses we operate, our environmental choices. Brendon calls Brooklyn, NY, home. “Once you have a kid, you start thinking about their future. Those are the kids that turn out the best, more prepared for life. "A Conversation With Brendon Babenzien, Former Supreme Design Director, On Relaunching Noah". Brendon’s free-thinking vision has long been at the heart of the movement merging the rebellious vitality of skate, surf, and music cultures with an innovative appreciation of classic menswear. Brendon Babenzien is the founder of the environmentally conscious menswear brand Noah. I view it as you’re on my team or you’re not. On a closer look, the shirt is not calling for A-Continuous-Lean-style domestic manufacturing — the only products in the illustration are sugar and cigarettes. “The easy way to talk about it is, I have a fondness for traditional things, but I don’t have a fondness for what gave rise to the tradition, for forcing it on others: ‘either looks like this or you’re out.’”, I talked with Babenzien about how he arrived at his personal style, and he told me it took a long time, but eventually, his choices became natural and easy, rather than careful and considered: “I don’t really question my choices anymore.”. The older people get, the more likely they are to have settled into a niche, even in systems they’re not comfortable with, and the more they may have at stake in maintaining the status quo. Menswear has been revisiting the concept of “classics with a twist” for decades, but no one is doing it better right now than Noah. It doesn’t really have any legs, its just clothes. You’d have to go to Noah’s blog or Instagram to find out the intent is to highlight the “evils that thrive in our culture.”. Work for @silvermag.jp @noahclubhouse interview: @tatsuya_yamashiro #BrendonBabenzien #noahclothing, A post shared by yutokudo (@youtojah) on Jul 4, 2019 at 4:02pm PDT, Babenzien himself doesn’t dress particularly radically.