Look beyond the shrunken suits and men’s skirts, and it’s obvious that Thom Browne has long been a master when it comes to tailoring. And his aesthetic, distinct as it may be, has always been rooted in American classics.
So it’s no surprise that the designer has turned to folk artist Grandma Moses as the inspiration for his fall men’s collection.
“Not many people are really familiar with her,” Browne said during a preview last week. “I think they’re more familiar with Norman Rockwell, but they were contemporaries and friends. What I love about her is that she started painting in her late 70s and the subject matter is very naive and very East Coast — and quintessentially American. And I do like people to see the quintessentially American feeling in my collections as well: in the fabrics, in the sensibility of the pieces.”
Browne, who will be previewing the collection in a showroom in Paris this week, said he plans to hold a full-fledged show during New York Fashion Week in February at a spot expected to be revealed Tuesday. (His brand was not listed in the preliminary NYFW schedule released by the Council of Fashion Designers of America last week.)
The naivete and charm that are so evident in Grandma Moses’ art found their way into Browne’s collection this season through a colorful print of a “summer Nantucket scene” the designer hand-painted and then emblazoned on jackets, pleated skirts and an overcoat. The pieces are intended to help the collection transition from summer into winter. Ditto for the embroidered lobster iconography Browne used in his intarsia pieces.
While the collection was very Thom Browne, there were some additions, such as shirts in heritage oxford, poplin and linen and new takes on tailoring, including a deconstructed apron-style jacket and painter-utility pieces in heavy cotton cavalry twill with back-strap details. Cricket jackets and zibeline-finish cashmere trenchcoats were in the mix, along with classically constructed suits in super 130s pinstripes and heritage tweeds created from a proprietary pattern.
Browne also dabbled in unconstructed tailoring, offering shells in cashmere and washed cotton as well as knit jackets.
Outerwear ranged from mariner and field jackets to toggle coats, ribbed varsity leather jackets and a new moto jacket and pants with articulated sleeves and knees to down jackets and classic Chesterfield coats.
The designer unveiled a new wash in denim that was created in Japan and used in jeans, jackets and skirts.
As he prepares for the upcoming New York show, Browne opted to present this line through a look book that was shot in a recreated bedroom where models were shown kneeling and saying their prayers before bed. On the wall was a lobster sculpture. “As a kid, I always had animals on my walls, which actually gave me nightmares,” Browne admitted. “But here, it’s a nod to the naivete of being a child and the charm there as well.”
