Thom Browne is the latest designer to suggest that the biggest trend to come out of New York Fashion Week is performance. Following on from Gareth Pugh and Opening Ceremony’s theatrical enactments, Browne’s show was framed by a narration by Diane Keaton which spun a dark fairy tale of six sisters wandering a cemetery late at night. The show featured runway models, overlooked by a statuesque pack of frozen figures perched on stilts or reclining on grass grids in the centre of the space.
"Thom Browne is the latest designer to suggest that the biggest trend to come out of New York Fashion Week is performance"
Thom Browne has long championed the theatrical, with collections that echo old Hollywood, vintage horror films and sci-fi. S/S15 is no exception: a dance of death played out in dégradé jackets, iridescent, embroidered PVC raincoats and candy suiting. While silhouettes remained fairly classic, in his fabrics Browne really let his imagination run free: sheared mink, plucked feathers, sequins and a flurry of flowers on hems, collars and more than thirty hats and fascinators made by the ever-dramatic Stephen Jones. There was also a regimental order to the colourful floral bursts and Prince of Wales check, each look assigned to a specific weekday: Monday signalled androgynous suiting, while Tuesday was an ornate cardigan worn over a shift dress. Thursday was full of flare, and by Friday models were dressed in T-shirts and unstructured, collarless coats. As for the weekend? Well, Browne leaves that up to you.
