Madewell
Womenswear and denim chain owned by J.Crew, built around jeans and an easy, workwear-tinged look. People buy it for denim fit and a more relaxed style than J.Crew.
Status: Watchlist
- Founded
- 2006
- Website
- madewell.com
- HQ
- USA
- Manufacturing
- Various
- Ownership type
- Lender-owned
- Parent
- J.Crew Group
- Acquired
- 2020
- Status since
- 2026-10-30
Ownership
The trademark of a defunct Massachusetts workwear maker was bought in 2003, passed to J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler in 2004 and leased to J.Crew Group for $1 a year (per USPTO papers cited by BuzzFeed). Lenders led by Anchorage Capital took control of J.Crew Group in its 2020 bankruptcy.
Why Watchlist
Madewell was a New Bedford, Massachusetts workwear maker founded by Julius Kivowitz in 1937, whose factories had closed by the 1980s. A designer bought the trademark for $125,000 in 2003, and J.Crew launched the current Madewell in the mid-2000s with "1937" in its web address and social handles. Its LinkedIn page said it "was started in 1937 as a workwear company"; madewell.com's About page made no founding claim when checked in October 2026.
Reversibility
What would change our verdict
Not applicable unless "1937" returns to labels or brand copy; then it moves to the essay record, not the tier.
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