Thom Browne made a bold return to NYFW with his F/W 23 collection, showcasing a cosmic and imaginative presentation at The Shed in Hudson Yards. The entire collection was heavily inspired by themes from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince,” which emphasizes the importance of love and loss, open-mindedness and exploration, aligning with the CFDA chair’s brand return to New York. Browne’s set transported the audience to a scene in a grayscale Sahara desert, with the chairs setting arranged in a circle with large clock-like numbers and a downed plane in the center. The show began with a narrator describing the scene and Debra Shaw and Alex Consani opening the show, landing as visitors to a new planet. Shaw wore a padded off-the-shoulder spacesuit with a continental-textured turtleneck, while Consani donned a suit dress featuring the brand’s four stripes motif and a star-like puffy hairdo. The collection showcased deconstruction as a common theme, with striped shirts and ties languidly interwoven into jackets, wrap skirts and web-like, face coverings that resembled barbed wire. The use of heavy wool tweed, exaggerated shoulders on coats, and clocks in shoes and bags connected to the uncanny mood of time ticking away. James Pecis created hair looks that resembled Saturn while Isamaya Ffrench painted astral projections onto muses like Anna Cleveland, Jordan Daniels, Sara Grace Wallerstedt, and Kerolyn Soares. Cast by Adam Hindle, Precious Lee, walking in her first show this NYFW, closed the show wearing a gold sculpture headpiece, puffed sleeves, white tulle, and a white jacket repurposed as a skirt.
