Thom Browne
Men's RTW Spring 2011
Making his Paris debut in the Communist party headquarters, Browne seated the audience as if they were delegates in an elaborate French-American diplomatic effort to welcome a returning space mission. The concept was somewhat convoluted, but Browne’s vision — a stone-faced mockery of midcentury American elites — was crystal clear. A large crew of astronauts doffed their helmets and spacesuits to reveal shrunken blazers, Bermuda shorts and knee socks. While the shapes never changed, the fabrics did, encompassing preppy patterns including checks and stripes and embroidered sharks and fishes. And into the hyper-macho realm of the international space race, Browne also sprinkled sequins and bows. The repetitiveness of the silhouette was an obvious weakness. But in terms of audacious stagecraft, ground control has nothing on Major Thom.
