## Noah
Originally founded in 2002 by former Supreme creative director Brendan Babenzian, Noah was parked shortly after, before being relaunched by Brendan and Estelle Bailery-Babenzian in 2015 as a nautical inspired brand. The relaunched Noah has had sustainability at its heart ever since and worked only with manufacturers who put tradition, expertise and human dignity ahead of the bottom line.

Aesthetically Noah draws on a wide range of influences, from skate and surf to military and workwear pieces to create their own original take on classic menswear.

## Lavenham and Noah
At Lavenham we have been creating quilted outerwear for over 50 years. We started out in Suffolk, England in 1969 with the world’s first nylon quilted horse rug and have since forayed into outerwear becoming the go-to for a made in England quilting. Having never strayed far from our heritage, careful manufacturing process and Suffolk production we have maintained the quality and durability of our product continuing to work with local craftspeople using the highest quality materials.

With shared values of opposing what Noah calls ‘the appalling practices of the fashion industry’ the Noah and Lavenhan union felt like a natural fit. Building on our earlier collaboration which saw us rework the archetypal Lavenham quilted jacket in Japanese denim, this season we have taken two quilted icons of menswear - the Buffalo Check overshirt and the Fishtail Parka - and made them our own.

## Notes from the Noah Design Team
It's doing these traditional British jackets through an American cultural lens. "Buffalo plaid" was introduced to the US sometime in the 1800s in the form of blankets - but it originated in Scotland as "Macgregor Red and Black" tartan. Eventually, Woolrich Woolen Mills in Pennsylvania started making wool shirts with the pattern and named it buffalo plaid. It's another one of those things that originated in the UK, made it to the states, applied it in new ways and almost became an American thing (e.g. oxford cloth shirts). Fast forward to my lifetime, buffalo plaid has been associated with the great American outdoors, hip hop, downtown culture, American Christmas and everything in between. Our take leans more where outdoor, traditional menswear and hip hop meet. Think Beastie Boys, Biggie, old graffiti, etc.

## The Buffalo Check Denham
The Denham jacket is the quintessential diamond quilt, cord collared jacket. We’ve been making versions of this jacket since the early 1970’s and it was originally designed to be worn whilst horse-back riding; the vented back allowed for ease of movement and for the jacket to sit properly whilst the wearer was seated. Much like the Buffalo worker shirt or the fishtail parka it has long since crossed over into everyday wear to become a classic piece of menswear.

For this project we have replaced the outer fabric with ‘buffalo plaid’. Although the name dates back to the U.S. in the 1800s where it first appeared on blankets, it originated in Scotland where tartans were and are associated with clans. The famous “red and black lumberjack” that the Notorious B.I.G. once rapped about began as “Macgregor Red and Black” tartan, before evolving into the buffalo plaid we know today once a Pennsylvania manufacturer called Woolrich Woolen Mills began weaving it into shirts.

## The Fishtail Parka
The M-51 Fishtail Parka began as standard-issue outerwear for American soldiers during the Korean War in the 1950s. A decade later, it became the uniform of rebellious youth who wore it while zipping through London streets on scooters. Reinterpreting these items through the lens of how global style turns functional pieces into subcultural symbols, Noah x Lavenham is a uniform for today's iconoclasts and cultural pioneers.