Fashion August 12, 2010, 5:00PM EST

J.Crew Takes a Leading Role in Men's Fashion

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So they built stores showcasing their growth opportunity in the men's." It's already paying off. J.Crew made $44.7 million in the first quarter of 2010, up from $20.4 million over the same period a year ago.

The company opened its first men's-only shop in August 2008, not long before Muytjens was promoted to menswear chief. Called The Liquor Store, it's a cozy, dark-paneled, antique-strewn boutique named for the bar that previously occupied its Tribeca storefront in Manhattan. A few months later the company opened its second in New Jersey's Westfield Garden State Plaza mall. A third followed in May 2009 in Manhattan's SoHo. Although the company declines to provide sales figures for the stores, Drexler told investors on a May 27 earnings call: "We're beyond thrilled with the performance of our stand-alone men's stores." A fourth is scheduled to open later this month in a two-floor Madison Avenue location.

Much of J.Crew's recent success in menswear can be attributed to the collaborations with third-party brands that began in fall 2007 when it started selling Red Wing boots. The partnerships—in which outside brands design items to be sold through J.Crew—don't make the largest contribution to overall revenues, but they got the industry talking. J.Crew now teams with both contemporary labels—Warehouse, Billykirk, Mister Freedom, and Superior Labor—and heritage brands such as Alden, Levi's, Sperry, Timex, and Ray-Ban. There are 40 partnerships in total, 27 of which have been spearheaded by Muytjens. Some, such as the collaboration with staid English brand Barbour, trend highbrow. Others, such as this fall's line of New Balance sneakers, are less so. "We're trying to make the brand relevant again," says Muytjens. "We're trying to be a little more edgy, a little more classic with the right twist." Or, as Richard E. Jaffe, a retail analyst at investment bank Stifel Nicolaus (SF), says: "They've tried to create a halo around their menswear by incorporating these iconic brands."

When Muytjens moved to J.Crew in 2004, he was instructed to tack upmarket. As the industry was flatlining in 2008—just when he assumed the top menswear job—Muytjens decided to stay the course. "As soon as Frank took over, it was a whole new chapter," say Jim Moore, GQ's creative director. "I feel like our eyes are really open wider to J.Crew and its potential." Muytjens was one of six designers GQ singled out for its annual "Best New Menswear Designer in America" award this year. He didn't win, but even being nominated was a coup for a designer for a brand normally lumped in with Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF).

Moore says Muytjens "has a great business plan" in that he works for a large company yet has the freedom to go with his gut. "For example," says Moore, "he keeps bringing back the two suit silhouettes that he's created—the Ludlow and the Aldridge—every season. This is a very smart move because once a guy gets hooked, he's gonna come back. If he loved the khaki suit in the summer, he's gonna come back for the gray flannel suit in the fall. Frank knows that's how guys shop. He manages to be consistent but offers surprises at the same time."

Although the company won't comment on its expansion strategy, analysts expect J.Crew stand-alone men's stores to start popping up in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, and perhaps even secondary and suburban markets. "Regardless of economic conditions," says Drexler, "there will always be a guy who will be searching for what's new, what's exciting, what's scarce. What feels like it might have been in your closet for years—and, frankly, what's special." And so far, he's right.

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