American Designer Thom Browne Brings Dreams Back to Paris Fashion Week

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No one stole Paris Fashion Week this season quite like American designer Thom Browne.

For Thom Browne’s classic-with-a-twist American fashion empire, theatrics – on par with the late Lee Alexander McQueen – have become the norm, so what better way to surprise the crowd than to show in Paris rather than New York City.

Browne’s world of wonder came to life as ballerinas in what appeared to be white plaster emerged with white globes covering their heads, dancing in unison as twins as the Spring/Summer 2018 show opened. Meanwhile, at the center of the fashion show, a couple sat in a luminescent white bed with white globes atop their heads. Thus, the dream of Paris through the gaze of Thom Browne had begun.

Crocodile bags with the designer’s famous trifecta of red, white and blue stripe printed on them, sky-high ankle boots with teetering platforms that only First Lady Melania Trump would be able to balance in and over-sized, over-bloomed coats that looked as though they had grown to the body of the model dominated the collection.

 

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The airy runway show was a departure from the last few seasons of Paris Fashion Week, where houses like Balenciaga, Vetements and Off-White have reused the same 1980s, 1990s-inspired takes on the woman’s wardrobe.

At Thom Browne, the only hint at reference to a decade were his classic coat and calf-length pleated skirt ensembles, which are the basic codes and heritage of the American fashion house.

Perhaps the most breathtaking look of the collection came in the form of a white coat that was saturated with white feathers at the cuffs and hem, looking as though the model had just fallen through the sky and caught clouds on her way down.

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The collection ended in true fantasy, with a human-structured white unicorn being led by an all-white clad model, evoking a kind of purity and non-sexuality reminiscent of the childlike wonder of a Wes Anderson flick. These were playful, beautiful clothes, two key elements the fashion establishment has lost along its way.

Leave it to American Thom Browne to put the dreams of Paris back into the city’s fashion calendar.

 

John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.

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