Slotted into J.Crew’s latest men’s collection—the first from its new men’s designer, Brendon Babenzien, which rolls into stores on Monday—is a camp-collar shirt with the feel of well-loved pajamas and patterns that call to mind thrift-store ties. It’s all part of the retailer’s effort to yank itself out of a gingham-and-chinos rut.⁠ ⁠ The company, said J.Crew chief executive Libby Wadle in an interview at J.Crew’s Manhattan headquarters this month, is “one of a few great American brands. I think we sort of lost that along the way.”⁠ ⁠ The brand rode a fizzy, preppy style to great success for decades, but of late, its predictable array of sprightly polo shirts and crisp capris left shoppers cold. In November 2020, when Ms. Wadle assumed the role, it was on its third CEO in three years and was staring down an identity crisis. ⁠ ⁠ One of Ms. Wadle’s first steps was naming Mr. Babenzien, co-founder of menswear label Noah and former longtime design director at Supreme, as J.Crew’s men’s creative director in May 2021. For the past two years, Olympia Gayot, formerly of Victoria’s Secret, has led the company’s women’s design.⁠ ⁠ Mr. Babenzien’s first collection aims to rope in both first-time shoppers and those who pine for the label’s madras-and-stripes glory days. (That nostalgia-laden fanbase is mighty: LostJCrew, an Instagram account dedicated to its pre-Y2K catalog years, has more than 26,000 followers.) Read more about it at the link in bio. (🖊️: @jacobwgallagher, 📷️: @katiemccurdy_) ⁠