March 8, 2021 |
When we say jump, Thom Browne says how high. With the world seemingly now in joggers, the American designer’s devotion to sheer fashion fantasy is applaudable. Any brand of Browne’s calibre – his business is estimated at a whopping $500 million – would be tempted to quietly disperse into sweats and comfy wear, considering the fact we’ve all been stuck in the gaff for a whole year. Though Browne’s favourite tipple is extravagance, served with a dash of go-big-or-go-home. Why do trackies when you have the capabilites to make couture-level concoctions?
Taking his lavish AW21 fashions to the slopes, in an impressive fashion film starring American alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, the co-ed collection is centred around the black tie. The opening look is an off-the-shoulder gold lamé ball gown, worn over a tuxedo jacket. It’s closely followed by corseted dresses that spill with pools of drawstring-ed puffa, Browne’s signature shrunken tailoring and Olympic-inspired silk taffeta jackets laden with patches and padded at the shoulder.
A rubber-looking plissé brings an outlandish element to these impeccably made pieces, creating ephemeral draping across floor-length skirts and a distorted effect on apron dresses. It all makes for carefully controlled chaos doused in Browne’s signature monochromatic colour palette. Who knew uniform could have such range?
Photography courtesy of Thom Browne.
