Thom Browne Brings Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' to Life with Dramatic NYFW Show — and Janet Jackson Sat Front Row

Browne closed New York Fashion Week with his signature flair

In true Thom Browne fashion, he closed out New York Fashion Week with a bang, hosting an epic show that was truly a spectacle.

To display his Fall/Winter 2024-2025 men's and women's collections, Browne created an Edgar Allan Poe-themed landscape with The Gilded Age actress Carrie Coon reading "The Raven" to narrate the entire scene. Stars like Janet Jackson, Queen Latifah and Antoni Porowski sat front row for the show.

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Held at The Shed in Hudson Yards, the wide-open space was covered in fake snow and showgoers were seated around the barren landscape. One model acted as the tree, wearing an oversize puffer sportcoat with a suit underneath. The model stood as a beacon through the show as everything else moved around the giant puffer coat.

"Once upon a midnight dreary, in a snow-clad field idle and eerie, a tree stands amid the haze, shrouded in silk moiré, a 30-foot chesterfield puffer, the children come out from under, eager to hear a grim, grim tale," the poem read during the show. Yes, children did, in fact, come from underneath the coat as part of the theatrics.

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Browne's ready-to-wear collection stayed true to what you expect from the designer and his eponymous line. It included plenty of checkerboard prints, statement coats and structured trousers. And there are always voluminous silhouettes at a Thom Browne show.

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Beyond the tree, there was also a model wearing a gold bubble jacket that was removed to reveal a sleeker gold look underneath. Eagle-eyed showgoers would have also noticed a jacket on a model that even said "Nevermore" — just like "The Raven" — on the back of it. The throughline, of course, is his signature stripe and the dog-shaped handbag.

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To further illustrate the over-the-top drama of the evening, Browne amped up the hair and makeup on his models with several rocking long braids protruding from their heads as if to portray horns. For glam, some models had bold eye makeup with rhinestones dotted around or what looked like branches drawn subtly on their faces. Almost all the models had bright, bold red lipstick.

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Browne told Vogue ahead of the show that his "Raven" references don't mean he's a tortured soul like that of the subject of the poem — he's simply a fan of the author. “I grew up loving Edgar Allan Poe,” he said, “and also, I do always like for people to see that I’m an American designer.”

The designer also noted to Vogue — which became evident through the show — that he didn't literally translate "The Raven" into the collection. The references weren't directly bird-related and instead he incorporated more nature elements, like bugs, and brought brighter notes like florals into the mix.

"As one story comes to an end, another begins. the beguiling golden bug emerges cloaked in a gold jacquard cape with debossed roses and black moiré intarsia ravens," the modified poem read as it came to an end and the model with the gold bubble cape revealed herself. "Her hand-knit gold bouillon cardigan held tight by a corset-topped skirt finished with a white silk duchess poof skirt."

The front row was decked out in Browne's signature pieces. Jackson wore a black suit with a long white coat with black and white shoes. Queen Latifah wore a voluminous ruffled black overcoat with a structured suit dress under it and carried a quirky clock bag. Porowski wore a skirt and vest with a jacket thrown over the top.

Though "The Raven" is a decidedly dark poem, Browne ended his show on a brighter note when he came out for his bow. The designer ran out into the open space with a large heart-shaped box of chocolates and gave it to his partner, Andrew Bolton, curator at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who was sitting front row. The sweet moment lifted the heavy tones of the show as it drew to a close after Coon's voice had rung out with the final notes of "Nevermore."

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