The Designs of Thom Browne Thom Browne | Big Think

The Designs of Thom Browne

New videos DAILY

Join Big Think Edge for exclusive videos

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thom Browne discusses the silhouette and design of his clothing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thom Browne:

Thom Browne is a New York based men's fashion designer. After graduating Notre Dame, Browne moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. Though he landed a few commercials, he wasn't terribly successful. He realized his true calling was in fashion, and in 1997 moved to New York. His first job was as a salesman in Giorgio Armani's showroom; he moved to Club Monaco's design and merchandising departments before launching his own label in 2001.

Browne's designs are something of a throwback to a pre-business casual era: New York Magazine has described his work as evoking "a fetishized, black-and-white-movie masculinity." The Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Browne 2006 Menswear Designer of the Year. Browne designs with a very specific impression in mind: "It's a very nice, very Continental, very charming world," he says.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIPT:

Question: What are you best known for?

Thom Browne: When I initially started, I wanted to re-introduce handmade clothing to guys – to young guys, because I really felt like so many of them were . . . were somewhat running away from it because it was always done either for their father in a . . . in a more conservative way . . . So I wanted to really re-introduce it in a way that it . . . that felt . . . it really felt like it was for them. And that was ‘50s, ‘60s inspired clothing that just fit very specifically – the jackets being shorter; the trousers, you know, narrow and slimmer. And just like changing the mentality of what was, you know, up until now I think regarded as a very . . . like a suit. Like they didn’t wanna become . . . they didn’t wanna be a suit. And I wanted to do the suit in a new way that made them feel like it was for them in a cooler way. When I lived in L.A. and I used to buy a lot of vintage clothing, and you know I would tailor it in a way for myself that was exactly this. And that was, you know, over 10 years ago. So in a way it’s . . . it’s been longer than actually how long my business has been open; but it’s something I really knew that if I . . . if I wanted it, I knew that there would be somebody else that would be interested in . . . in this type of thing.