BEAUTY: Clothing--Thom Browne

When Thom Browne dreams up a collection, he truly commits to the theming of its presentation, something I admire about him. For his Spring Summer '25 women's and men's collection shown in Paris the other day, he took the upcoming Olympics in the City of Light as an inspiration. The show space held a static tug of war game as the audience filed into the Musée des Arts Décoratifs with its classically carved walls. The official start of the show saw The Spirit Of The Olympics appear to an orchestral fanfare worthy of any Olympics wearing a headpiece made of gold laurel leaves, and the tug of war teams went at it. But there was no apparent winner and they marched out of the space for the couture section to begin.

Browne's deconstructed suits and dresses came out in tones of white (a huge change from his dark collections of late), all made from lightweight muslin, the type of which is used in fashion house ateliers to mock up sample garments. But here, Browne used the material in various weights to create exquisite couture creations. Added to the Browne vernacular is intricate hand embroidery and beading, showing athletes in various poses on several pieces while models carried embroidery hoops with figures...the first model even wore an embroidery hoop hat. But one of the show stopping pieces was a dress showing on one half the human muscular system, as though the model had been flayed open. The other half showed the shape of muscles as seen with skin. And the wedding dress that closes the show is jaw dropping. Also of note: fantastic wrestling boots with cleats and an invisible heel! The final tableau was a trio of models in intricately embroidered and beaded jackets of, you guessed it, bronze, silver, and gold.

Do take a look at the video below. The show proper starts at 15:45. And the creations are wonderful.

https://www.thombrowne.com/