Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2018 Ready-to-Wear Review

A dancerly explosion of creativity. That was the first thing that came to mind when seeing this fantastic Thom Browne collection. A cabinet of deformed curiosities, cascades of color and glitter, entertaining whimsy, and good old theatricality brought life back into the season on the final day of Paris Fashion Week. In terms of technicality, the best types of garments concocted in Browne's mind this season were the pieces whose threads unravelled and became clouds of fabric, like they were being dreamt up as they were coming down the runway. In fact, the inspiration behind the whole collection was about childhood imaginations and their dreams. At the base of the runway there was an actual bed with two sisters soundly asleep in their perfect state.

Browne is an interesting designer because he has based his entire empire on the staple gray suit. Rather than letting it sit and change only the cuff shapes or fabrics slightly each season, he takes the gray suit, sticks it in a blender, and sends it on an acid trip. This time around, waistlines sank down to mid thigh, jackets fell apart and became more opulent in the process, and gray gave way to checks, then to blasts of neon and tropical colors. Then everything went to sinister black and twisted fabrics started to reveal a bride and groom finale, with a fantastical unicorn manned by male models in full regalia.  

A passionate and emotional applause erupted after the final look, where the always uniformed Mr. Browne himself ran out to give thanks to his audience, who were undisputably joyous to have witnessed such good fashion theatre. 

Photos Courtesy of VogueRunway.com