PLUSSupreme’s former creative

director, Brendon Babenzien, strikes out on his own with Noah. Page MW2

February 12, 2015

Club Kids

With the New York men’s shows already in

motion, Public School’s designers, Maxwell

Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow, are gearing up for their show

on Sunday by channeling the Nineties downtown club

scene in Manhattan. “Hip-hop helped to transition the dominant

house scene into a new format that combined fashion and dance into a subculture based on movement

and reappropriation,” they said. For more designer inspirations, see pages MW4 and MW5.

Style Slam DunkA look at the most fashion-forward guys at

NBA’s All-Star Weekend. Page MW8

Men’s WeekWWD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015MW2

Man ofTHE WEEK

by RACHEL STRUGATZ

BRENDON BABENZIEN wants to be there when skater kids grow up and start to get a taste for high-end duds.

The longtime creative director of Supreme left the 20-year-old cult brand a few weeks ago and is in the midst of creating a ready-to-wear collection for Noah, a brand he is launching for fall with an e-com-merce site and a store in New York.

Babenzien dabbled with Noah about a decade ago, but ultimate-ly returned to Supreme, where he started working in the late Nineties and which he returned to in 2006 after a short hiatus.

Now his focus is on Noah. He is in the process of raising $2 mil-lion to build the brand and is seri-ous about putting together the right team to make a mark in the men’s wear market, targeting the grown-up version of the Supreme customer.

“If you’re a 20-year-old kid today who buys any number of

cool brands, you aren’t in five years going to start wearing a suit and tie. They aren’t just gonna get stodgy overnight,” said the 43-year-old Babenzien, dressed in ripped

jeans, a rugby shirt from a “real rugby brand” and a vintage, royal-blue suede jacket.

Supreme is famously press-shy and doesn’t follow any traditional fashion calendars, and Noah is being launched with some of the same elusiveness. But if that atti-tude works as well for Babenzien as it has for the streetwear label, Noah should be a hit with men who grew up with labels like Stüssy and Supreme and are look-ing to move on.

“Twenty years ago, skateboard-ers were outcasts and football players were cool. Now [the skate-boarders are] at the top of the food chain,” Babenzien said. “They aren’t being addressed very well. If you want to spend a ton of money, you can buy great clothes. But can you balance that with an under-standing of what’s happening so-cially at the moment and what kind of music people are listening to?”

Babenzien hopes to address all of these things at once for this

consumer — likely in his late 20s to early 40s — while at the same time forging a real connection with this new, more informed shopper. Eighteen-year-old kids and 45-year-old men are listen-ing to the same music and reading the same magazines, and Noah is being positioned to speak to both ends of the spectrum.

The inaugural fall collection will hit Babenzien’s site and store in the fall, speaking to his “buy-now-wear-now” philosophy. He doesn’t want consumers to be tired and bored of the apparel by the time it hits the stores, one of the downsides of the increasingly hy-per-digital world.

“I like surprises,” he said. “People can see it a week before it comes out as opposed to, ‘I’ve been looking at it for six months already.’ I want that fun element to reign.”

While Noah’s design sensibil-ity is classic, Babenzien is focusing primarily on fabrics, using them in atypical ways. For example, he is

taking a superluxe Loro Piana wa-terproof fabric that would typically be used for a trenchcoat or overcoat and using it to construct a water-proof running jacket. Fabrics in-tended for double-faced camel hair coats will be used to make hoodies. Cashpad, a down replacement made from cashmere that is manufactured in Italy, will be key in outerwear. Casual drawstring pants might look like sweatpants, but they won’t be.

There will also be water-re-sistant corduroy running shorts — what the designer described as “really beautiful, plush shorts, ex-cept corduroy is a little warmer, a little more comfortable and a littler nicer. To me, it’s a running short, but I’d probably wear it in the summer after a surf in the eve-ning when the sun is going down.”

Jackets will have an opening price point of $400 but most will range from $800 to $1,200. Tops and bottoms will start at $180, “sweatpants” from $180 to $380 and T-shirts will retail for about $48.

Former Supreme Designer Launching Label

J. Crew and LacosteTeam for Shirt LineJ. CREW has tapped Lacoste for a line of exclusive polo shirts that will hit stores next week.

The J. Crew x Lacoste shirts for men, women, children and babies will be available in more than 30 J. Crew stores in the U.S. as well as online beginning Feb. 18. Jenna Lyons, Crew’s creative direc-tor and president, and Frank Muytjens, head of men’s design, selected the brand as part of the retailer’s “Looks We Love” section. Lacoste reached back into its ar-chives from 1983 to create a special version of its logo for the shirts, which feature a croco-dile of a different color.

“I’ve always been attracted to the rich history of Lacoste, es-pecially its vintage polo shirts,” explained Muytjens, who said he “loves” wearing his archival Lacoste shirts. “We used them as our starting point, preserving details like a notched hem and a throwback crocodile logo but with a slimmer fi t. They let us go through their archives to bring back an old crocodile, which is blue, not green. It’s a nice throwback.”

Jenny Cooper, head of Crewcuts design, added that “the fabric…just gets better with age. I had a Lacoste shirt that I wore for almost

10 years, beginning when it was swimming on me as a girl to when I had completely grown out of it. We love the history and timelessness.”

The shirts will be available in white, navy, burgundy and orange, and will retail from $55 to $98.

— J.E.P.

by JEAN E. PALMIERI

ROB GARCIA is branching out on his own.

A former partner at buzzy brand En Noir, Garcia will introduce his own collection on Wednesday , during New York Fashion Week. Garcia, who parted ways with En Noir over business differences, has spent the past month working in Paris on his own label. “It was re-ally a natural progression,” he said, noting that the Rob Garcia collec-tion will showcase an “evolving aes-

thetic” that blends the streetwear references he honed earlier in his career with more high-end infl u-ences. “The line is based on foun-dation basics,” he said. “I’m into classic men’s wear silhouettes in superior materials. We’re not trying to recreate the wheel.”

As such, the inaugural collec-tion will include a biker jacket, bomber, double-breasted coats with a “military vibe,” denim and eve-ningwear, he said. Although Garcia expects to have completed around 50 pieces by showtime, his show is

expected to feature 15 to 17 looks.Garcia, whose father was a pro-

fessional skateboarder, began his ca-reer in streetwear working at several California-based brands including Black Scale, before creating En Noir. He was presented with the Best New Menswear Designer award by GQ last year and created a capsule col-lection for the Gap as well.

He said the Rob Garcia line is being fi nanced by several investors who will focus on the business end of the brand while he concentrates on the design.

Brendon Babenzien

Looks from Rob Garcia’s line.

A J. Crew x Lacoste polo shirt.

Rob Garcia to Unveil Own Brand

SAM SMITH: A

The British crooner, who racked up four awards at the Grammys on Sunday, mentioned in one of his acceptance speeches that the moment he started believing in himself and his choices, his music became a hit. The same can be said of his sartorial ensembles on the red carpet that night.

The slight rockabilly pompadour accentuates his jawline and works well with his angular eyebrows. But watch out for the hairline.

Were he and Boy George separated at birth?

The silk contrasting peak lapel enhances the evening dress code and works well with the wingtip collar of the shirt.

He’s obviously been watching too much

Downton Abbey. He’s not in full white tie, as he

would need a white vest and tails, but the white-

on-white combo lights up his face and blue eyes.

The elongated, narrow sleeve and shirt cu� help slenderize his silhouette

and add a touch of modernity.

The subtle carrot-cut of the pants continues to

play with the modern feeling of the look. They

also fi t him just right.

The chunky patent leather shoes deviate

from formalwear tradition, but we’re not going to rain on the lovefest parade.

The silver cross earring is very reminiscent of another

British pop icon, George Michael. It looks great.

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NTA-15-0656-ADV-ADV WWD 2/12 ISSUE AD.indd 1 2/3/15 12:24 PM

Men’s WeekWWD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015MW4

Designer Inspırations

As the men’s wear industry gears up for the last leg of shows, gentrification, texture, purity and thoughts of tomorrow are just a few of the ideas that characterize NYFW designers’ collections. — Compiled by LUIS CAMPUZANO

“Inspired by the greatest daily theater in London and New York: the morning commute.”

— Liam and Sammy Fayed, Bespoken

“Tomorrow.” — Daniel Silver and Steven Cox,

Duckie Brown

“William Merritt Chase.”

— Alex, Matthew and Samantha Orley, Orley

“Stoic colors and sharper, more tailored shapes.” — Kerby Jean-Raymond, Pyer Moss

“We challenged ourselves to refresh the idea of wearing a uniform, using cutting-edge fabrics and applying innovative construction techniques.” — Porsche Design

“Traveling in the U.K., exploring for new inspiration.” — Hiroki Nakamura, Visvim

“All about the outdoors.” — Michael Anderson, vice president of men’s design,

Banana Republic

“Texture.” — Frank Muytjens,

head of men’s design, J. Crew

“Each season W.R.K is inspired by a different occupation: not specifi cally by the task at hand but by the man behind it.” — Matteo Gottardi, W.R.K

“The fall/winter 2015 collection represents the cold, gray feel of San Francisco, the city where I was born. With reference to the Pacifi c Ocean and skating through the damp city streets, I want this collection to feel like fog-soaked concrete.” — John Elliott, John Elliott + Co

“I was inspired by the proportions and stripped-down styling of workwear.” — Michael Maccari, Perry Ellis

“A relaxed mood.” — Shimon and Ariel

Ovadia, Ovadia & Sons

“My designs this season leverage

the power of texture and

shape to appear subtly different

depending on the viewing angle. I love the idea of playing with

perception.” — Carlos Campos

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Men’s Week WWD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015 MW5

“Texture.” — Frank Muytjens,

head of men’s design, J. Crew

“I was inspired by Hollywood’s glorifi cation of the American West during the 19th century and how it was adapted for the screen during that era. This collection is a polished, buttoned-up vision of that, with some nods to real Western workwear, authentic 19th-century prints and stylized Western prints from the 1960s.” — David Hart

“Abyssopelagic: adj; pertaining to sea water at a depth of 4,000 meters and beyond, or an intimate expression of the working man’s wardrobe, inspired by the still sound, fragile life-forms and hypnotic undercurrents of the deep blue sea.” — Ryu Hayama, Fingers Crossed

“Gentrifi cation.” — Siki Im

“Today’s cultural nomad — a sophisticated, curious man.” — Carlos Garciavelez, GarciaVelez

“Cold fusion.” — Donna Karan, DKNY Men

“In watching Brando’s masterpiece of urban poetry ‘On the Waterfront’ [1954], a raggedly emotional tale of individual failure and social contrasts, we didn’t miss the realism of old, but do love Brando’s youthful energy and style, and the city’s cinematic dark, light and shadowed streetscape depicted in the movie.” — Stefan Miljanic, Gilded Age

“The pioneering spirit.” — Daisuke Obana, N.Hoolywood

“A surreal trek through the Peruvian mountains.”

— Jonny Cota, SkinGraft

“The Timo team was inspired by the ‘Beat Generation’ and ‘snapshots from road trips.’ Robert Frank’s ‘The Americans’ was central to this — his photos from the Fifties that spanned the spectrum of Americans between rich and poor, city and nature.” — Timo Weiland, Alan Eckstein and Donna Yang, Timo Weiland Men’s

“The fall/winter 2015 collection is inspired by the early days of American aviation, including military details and the photography of Willi Ruge.” — David Hart, creative director, Hickey Freeman Sportswear

“Purity, logic and mathematical order.” — Todd Snyder

“We really enjoyed taking a portion of the collection and developing pieces from their roots. We start at the growing level of the design process, alongside cotton growers and fi nishers, to produce beautifully pure, hand-knit sweaters. Not everything can be approached with that sort of attachment, but the pieces we were able to create using that farm-to-garment approach were super inspiring.” — Billy Reid

“The Eidos autumn/winter ’15 collection was inspired by the liberation of Naples in 1943 as seen through the eyes of photographer and war correspondent Robert Capa.” — Antonio K. Ciongoli, creative director, Eidos

“I am interested in the style of Aldo Nadi and his fellow fencers of the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.”

— Robert Geller

“Derek Ridgers” — Tim Coppens

FOR MORE, SEE

WWD.com/menswear-news.

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Men’s WeekMW6 WWD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

EURO NEWS

RETRO SEVENTIES

GRAPHIC KNITS

VOLUME PANTSVOLUME PANTS

Ami

Topman

Valentino

Balmain

No.21

Calvin Klein Collection

Maison Margiela

Dunhill

Lanvin

Cerruti

E. Tautz

J.W.Anderson

Salvatore Ferragamo

Jil Sander

Giorgio Armani

Ports 1961

As New York Fashion Week begins, here are the leading trends from the European runways shaping the fall season so far. — ALEX BADIA

MSGM Kenzo

Maison Margiela

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J.W.Anderson

Men’s Week WWD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015 MW7

MASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITY

GREEN SHADES

STATEMENT COATS

Saint Laurent Gucci

MASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITYMASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITY

Todd Lynn Rick Owens Raf SimonsRaf Simons

BerlutiBottega Veneta

Craig Green

Missoni

Ann Demeulemeester

Louis Vuitton

Umit Benan

Balenciaga

Ermenegildo Zegna

Carven

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Dior Homme

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Dries Van Noten

Men’s WeekWWD thursday, february 12, 2015MW8

NBA’s All-Star Style Setters FASHION AND SPORTS are colliding, with New York Fashion Week and the NBA All-Star Game both setting the city abuzz.

Retailers and manufacturers are lin-ing up to associate themselves with the style stars who will hit the court at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. From sit-down interviews with fashion directors to intimate dinners for special guests, the fash-ion industry is embracing the big game and its well-dressed players.

Perhaps the biggest event of the week-end is a fashion show produced by LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers in collabo-ration with Turner Sports and IMG. NBA All-

Star All-Style presented by Samsung Galaxy will include a runway show with players, models and style setters including James Harden, Klay Thompson, Chandler Parsons, DeMarcus Cousins and Zach LaVine. The show will be broadcast on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on TNT.

Bloomingdale’s is bringing Harden to the store tonight to visit with shoppers in a special pop-up shop filled with NBA merchandise, while Saks Fifth Avenue’s men’s fashion director, Eric Jennings, is sit-ting down with Brooklyn Nets point guard Jarrett Jack and former NBA player Kevin Willis, for a special chat about sneaker style.

Ermenegildo Zegna is hosting a dinner with Carmelo Anthony, who will be decked out in the line’s Couture collection at both the din-ner as well as in Bergdorf Goodman’s new-est incarnation of its Goodman ad campaign, launching next week.

Express will introduce its new men’s wear ambassador Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in an event Friday night that will also feature a live perfor-mance by Ludacris.

Made Fashion Week will bring Anthony to its fashion stage on Saturday for a show-case on wearable technology; Starter has installed a pop-up shop at the Paramount

Hotel in Times Square for its special NBA All-Star jacket and other merchandise; Barneys will be hosting a cocktail party with Russell Westbrook on Friday to celebrate his “achievements in basketball and fashion,” and Nike is bringing James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and other players to its store and other venues around town for the next three days.

Many of the players who will be participat-ing in the game are stars both on and off the court because of their unique sense of style. Here is WWD’s look at the NBA style all-stars.

— ALEX BADIA and JEAN E. PALMIERI

CARMELO ANTHONYAnthony is no stranger to fashion, as his style choices reflect good knowledge of trends and hot brands. However, by NBA standards, he is classic and loves a fedora morning, noon and night.

KOBE BRYANTBryant understands the power of style and branding. His ongoing collaboration with Nike has reached cult status and he remains a favorite with the style-setter community. His suit choices reflect a deep knowledge of European tailoring and he never shies away from touches of color or statement accessories. He is a winner.

CHRIS BOSHBosh loves iconic men’s wear looks, has a good knowledge of sartorial rules and knows how to wear a suit. And when opting for a more relaxed ensemble, his attention to detail and elegant aesthetic shines through.

KEVIN DURANTKnowing how to wear clothes with ease comes naturally to Durant. He looks as stylish wearing an elongated T-shirt and skinny jeans as he does in black tie on the red carpet. His love for retro eyewear, statement men’s jewelry and well-fitted suits only help solidify his fashion-leader status.

BLAKE GRIFFINGriffin is a fashion star in the making. From three-piece suits paired with desert boots to formfitting sweatshirts worn with sleek dress pants and a great display of suit separates, Mr. Griffin has a clear personal style and is always on the mark.

LEBRON JAMESThe godfather of NBA fashion has a great editorial eye and shows a big range, wearing everything from perfectly fitting suits to sleek sportswear without compromising his street cred. Let’s not forget he has been doing this for a while and has great access to the best clothes.

DAMIAN LILLARDIn the case of Lillard, there is no fear and more is more. From bright red three-piece suits to retro Fifties tailoring, he obviously likes to have fun with fashion, loves to dress up and he always seems to pull it off. He plays a bit dangerously, but that makes him even more of a style plate.

DWYANE WADEWade’s confidence and risk-taking clearly define his fashion choices. His own personal style always shines through, and his creative black-tie ensembles are consistent. Of course, being married to a Hollywood actress doesn’t hurt.

JOHN WALLTo witness the style evolution of a young player is always an interesting process. In the past, Wall’s choices have been correct but very by the book. But lately, he has widened his range by opting for more-modern outfits that include elegant color pairings and a more relaxed attitude. We want to see more.

RUSSELL WESTBROOKThe ultimate fashion darling, Westbrook integrates the latest streetwear trends with luxe ath-leisure and more traditional heritage men’s wear staples. He has graduated to fashionista territory. An

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