Moodboard: Ten years ago, in January 2009, Thom Browne staged a performance at Pitti Uomo in which hordes of female models dressed as clones of the designer himself, undersized grey flannel suits and all, sat at identical desks, behaving like your average Joe would at the office, only at a far more glacial pace. The show became instantly embedded into the fashion audience’s collective consciousness and, ever since, Browne has been known for his often cryptic, sometimes humorous, always slow-themed shows. And, ten years after that first Florentine show, the cycle has come full circle. On Sunday, guests arrived at the Beaux Arts on Paris’ Rive Gauche to find a rectangular glass structure containing an office, with several desks, coat hangers, table lamps and old-fashioned typewriters. Nothing could feel more inherently Thom Browne.
Best in show: The same applied to the clothes: the show opened, as it usually does, with a group of models dressed identically, this time in trademark tightly-proportioned grey suits with short trousers, complete with beige mini macs. Making their way to a workspace they started methodically typing away as the rest of the show went by, to the sounds of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence. One thing was clear: this season was the antithesis of the last one, physically and metaphorically: beach holidays had been swapped for everyday humdrumness, yes, but torturous high heels, masks and bondage-inspired gowns had also given way to ultra comfortable loafers, clicking away as models advanced, and simple pleated trousers. The couture-like quality of Browne’s feminine clothes was of course still there, but this time it felt more subtle, reaching its technical climax with a golden coat in which astrakhan gave way to embroidery almost imperceptibly. As for the rest, it was, as the French would say, ‘un retour aux sources'.
Team Work: One of the objects present on every single desk on set was particularly intriguing: it was a photo-sized replica (the kind parents keep of their kids at the office) of Una Troubridge’s portrait by Romaine Brooks. Hailed as a sort of family member, the monocled figure acted as the main inspiration for the collection. Models were styled after her, their hair so masculine-like you would have been forgiven for temporarily forgetting you were at a womenswear show. It was this sort of garçonne-spirited androgyny that first caught the attention of the industry at the very first Thom Browne show. On Sunday, it did again.
Thom Browne A/W 2019.
Thom Browne A/W 2019.
Thom Browne A/W 2019.
Thom Browne A/W 2019.
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Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
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Peugeot brings back a classic performance badge for the electric era: meet the E-208 GTiPeugeot has unveiled the new E-208 GTi, a performance EV designed to hark back to a golden age of compact sports cars
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This 18th-century Puglian villa has been restored with contemporary touchesThe updated stonemason's workshop is a haven of centuries-old brick and sophisticated made-in-Italy design
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Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
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‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’ Serge Lutens writes an ode to a singular perfumePublished exclusively by Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens writes an ode to Jeux de Peau, a singular perfume of his creation inspired by a childhood memory of baking bread
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What did Christian Dior’s favourite ‘invisible’ flower smell like?Dior’s Francis Kurkdijan recreates the scent of a rare lily of the valley species in Le Muguet, the first olfactory chapter of new perfume collection Les Récoltes Majeures
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Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrastThe Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
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In Thom Browne’s newest store, prep meets Palm BeachThe American fashion designer has brought his affinity for midcentury design to a '50s-era shopping centre
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How an 18th-century mansion became a Loewe wonderland for Paris Fashion WeekDrawing on the act of scrapbooking, Jonathan Anderson took over the Hôtel de Maisons with a self-reflective A/W 2025 presentation, shown alongside colourful artworks from the brand’s collection
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Inside Sarah Burton’s debut show for Givenchy: ‘To go forward, you have to go back to the beginning’This morning in Paris, the former Alexander McQueen designer unveiled her anticipated debut as creative director of Givenchy – a musing on contemporary womanhood sparked by the discovery of lost Hubert de Givenchy pattern pieces
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‘Azzedine Alaïa - Thierry Mugler’: new Paris exhibition puts two fashion greats in conversation‘Azzedine Alaïa - Thierry Mugler’ at Fondation Azzedine Alaïa explores the affinity and friendship between two designers who redefined 1980s and 1990s fashion. Curator Olivier Saillard tells Wallpaper* about the unique show
