Thom Browne

If talking of drama, Thom Browne is the master of it, always. Staged in a faux snowy, secret garden, the nearly-couture designer played with textures and clothes, creating exquisite garments. Sewing together suits, he has created abstract skirts which chaotically overlapped mink coats, while the men’s ties were twisted into hats by Browne’s long-time collaborator, Stephen Jones. The pleated, signature-grey dress had a sense of Victorian night-gown, which gave us all a little hint that the designer looks nostalgically back at the fashion history (take the tweeds, which revive to a great surprise Coco Chanel – even Karl Lagerfeld would love to show off a line-up of so beautiful blazers!). Definitely, this ready-to-wear collection has a very unwearable, theatrical mood about it – however, there are few pieces which will surely sell well at Dover Street Market next season.

There was an elusive, Rene Magritte mood during the Thom Browne autumn-winter 2016 presentation for men. Just like in the surreal paintings of this Belgian artist, the New York-based designer staged a nostalgic, mournful collection of meticulously detailed coats and suits. Note the chaotic stitches which jut out of the coat above – and the pants, which look tattered and old. Even the socks have little holes. But there is beauty in this type of rawness, and Browne is absolutely aware of that. The hats which dramatically obscured models’ faces were made in collaboration with a long time friend of the designer, Stephen Jones Millinery.

As for the end of a very, very good fashion month of menswear, the New Yorker’s collection felt like a delightful dessert (even though it wasn’t as colourful as you might suspect a dessert to be). Time for haute couture, and the remaining labels with their pre-fall look-books…