It goes without saying that Thom Browne is known for his tailoring. What’s less often noted is the designer’s passion for fabrics—and as often as not, it’s his inspired choice of textiles that really makes his collections sing. This was a Browne collection in which the materials felt like the main story. It wasn’t just the splashy stuff, such as the confetti tweed woven out of cotton and denim and silk and jupe and tulle, or the spray-painted mink; simpler fabrications also came to the fore. Madras plaid was a big theme here, with Browne mixing and matching the classic preppy check in painterly ways. There were also solid-color madras cottons, salt-shrunk to give the material some heft and hand and sometimes decorated with bead embroidery. Some of Browne’s nicest pieces were his salt-shrunk cotton shift dresses—uncharacteristically simple in shape and uncharacteristically short—embellished with beads in the form of tennis rackets. It was the rare Resort season look that really did seem made to be worn at a resort.
There was more where that came from. Although Browne’s broad range of grayscale tailored looks were nicely done, per usual, and the tweeds and plaids had a lot of pep, it was in his pursuit of the tennis theme that he best balanced his senses of nattiness and silliness. A long evening blouse of fine, racket-patterned lace? What better thing to wear to a reception at Wimbledon. Only his tennis whites–inspired ensembles could compete for that honor. Meanwhile, for ladies less eager to embrace soigné sportif looks, Browne had a few more classic evening options: His bustier dresses made for a nice counterpoint to both the athletic kit-inspired pieces and the androgynous sack jackets and tailored jumpsuits. They also marked a contrast with this outing’s dominant, strong-shoulder, waistless shapes. There was a little something for everyone, in other words—especially the tennis-obsessed.
