Beginning in January 2023, Thom Browne will be the next chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The New York designer succeeds Tom Ford who held the position for three years. Brown was elected unanimously by the CFDA’s board of directors (which includes Ford) for a two-year term.
Before joining the CFDA in 2005, Brown launched his label in 2003. As of today, Brown has won the CFDA’s Menswear Designer of the Year award three times, in 2006, 2013 and 2015. He also serves on the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund’s selection committee. By 2018, Ermenegildo Zegna bought 85 per cent of the company, valuing the brand at $500 million.
Brown is known for his mastery of tailoring and made-to-measure suits. Since its founding, the brand has grown to include full ready-to-wear men’s and women’s collections, accessories, footwear and fragrance, and runway shows in Paris and New York.
Browne, determined to inspire the next generation of designers said, “My most important message is that everyone should have all the opportunities to thrive as designers, but the core of this success has to start from pure creativity. It is the mission of the CFDA to support and encourage new voices and new designers to parlay their creativity into a unique and singular level of success. As designers, it is our responsibility to provoke…to educate… to entertain…to make laugh and to make cry…and, most importantly, to make beautiful clothes and to succeed in nurturing the next generation of American design.”
As he gears up to step into this new role next month, Browne is showing pre-fall. This commercially centered collection aims to balance creative inspiration from the classic book “Moby Dick.” The literary work of art is conveyed through fantastical silhouettes, seafaring embroideries, and marine mammal shaped handbags. The collection spans classic tweeds, tailoring and proportions, showing elongated single and double-breasted jackets with pleated skirts, and cropped sweaters or twinsets with low-waist pencil skirts for the Gen Z set. Playing on a new trend, the line features micro minidresses made from suiting fabric paired with cable knit tights and duck shoes. Colors paint the collection in pastel pink, pale gray, and darker colors like navy and clean all black looks.
