Thom Browne has long wanted to show in Paris instead of New York, which is a rather commercial market for him. And this year he will, on the last day of Paris Men’s Fashion Week in June, the same day Lanvin and Paul Smith usually show. This is his first time showing there. He deserves it, and we are happy for him … but we are also devastated for New York Fashion Week!
Each season any number of editors, buyers, and reporters (including this one) could count Thom’s show as their favorite. The only sure things about a Thom Browne show are bottoms that are just that much shorter than you’d expect them to be at any other show, along with an utter absence of cankles (granted, one expects that at most fashion shows). After several days of looking at overpriced filmy T-shirts and depressingly tight pants, when the exhaustion has fully set in and the last thing you want to do is drag yourself to the Upper East Side for something that will only last twenty minutes, suddenly Thom’s show rolls around and you’d be willing to go to Staten Island to see it. You never know if you’re in for crinolines, three-legged pants, mermaid warriors, tails, halter tops, hat masks, or, you know, this. Who else does that in New York with such wit, surprise, and most important, regularity? His show will be dearly missed next season.
