By Valentine Fabre
Thom Browne made his debut at Paris Couture Week with an immersive and theatrical collection that put American-fashion at the centre of the attention during this very Parisian event.
Staged at the historic Palais Garnier in the centre of the French Capital, Thom Browne’s first Couture show was a living nightmare for anyone with ornithophobia. As the red curtain was slowly lifted, the guests (sitting directly on the stage) would be faced with over 2000 - creepy - cardboard cut-out human figures in the house’s signature grey suite, while the front of the scene was scattered with fake - yet very realistic - pigeons. Symbolic of urban lives, the birds were a hint that the American house’s would bring in its iconic grey suite (signature since its start in 2003), also a symbol of the contemporary city-dweller.
Although the collection felt very loyal to what Thom Browne creates for his RTW shows, his debut at Couture Week took us to even deeper corners of his imagination. Towering in platform heels and dressed with the iconic house’s suit, Alek Wek opened the show to then sit on grey suitcases in the middle of the runway for the rest of the show. As if entering the model’s various dissociative thoughts, the rest of the collection was composed of bell-shaped hats (with crystals similar to pigeons’ eyes), bell-shaped coats with enormous balloons sleeves, coats as skirts, pigeon heads hats, grey and blue feathers as embellishments and different trompe l’oeil.
As per usual Chesterfield Coats, Ivy-league jackets, pleated skirts and ties (whether printed or reals) were central to the show, but in respect to his first Couture collection, Thom Browne pushed the limits of the preppy looks with surrealist touches. While the garments felt similar to each other, this allowed the viewer to concentrate on the intricate and numerous details of each look: heels decorated with small bells, art-deco golden beadings, rich embroidered patterns or garments entirely made out of crystal clear beads that appeared grey thanks to the thread.
In this Truman Show-esque, slightly ominous, setting, the American house celebrated the fashion of its home country while honouring the codes of the World’s Capital of Couture, “I’m starting with tailoring, but elevating it to a level that is worthy of being called couture. And the level in regard to fabrications and embroideries is really what you see—but it's been elevated to a higher level.” as explained by Browne.
It is safe to say that his debut was not only a success but left us hungry for more. More grey, more tailoring, and more of Brown’s unquestionable creativity.
Credit: Voguerunway.com
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