Thom Browne Men’s Resort 2024

Jean E. Palmieri
·2 min read
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There are lots of stripes in Thom Browne’s men’s resort collection, a not-so-subtle thumb of the nose to Adidas, which lost a recent court battle attempting to bar the designer from using stripes on the more-casual pieces in his line.

“We’re flying those four bars as much as possible,” Browne said, adding that it is important for smaller brands not to be intimidated by larger companies when they set out to create design elements for their collections. “This is a fight that needs to be fought.”

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So Browne’s stripes were found on everything from knee socks and belts to sleeve and jacket details.

While the designer is still creating separate men’s and women’s collections, the overlap is becoming more prevalent in recent years.

“It’s more and more important to connect men’s and women’s,” he said in a Zoom interview. “We’re living in a time when men and women are looking at clothing in the same way. Because I design both at the same time, it’s not as gendered anymore.”

That was evident in everything from the fabric and the silhouettes to the proportions. Think long pleated skirts and inside-out tailored jackets and coats that were created as a visible representation of the intricate work required to produce the pieces.

“This speaks to how I approach tailoring,” he said. “Construction is sometimes more important than the design of a garment and it’s important to see how things are made.”

In terms of the palette, there was still plenty of gray and black — the brand’s signature — but Browne infused the line with more color this time, an extension of the tweeds he offered in the last collection and a way to “refresh” the retail stores in which it is sold.

Accessories, led by bags in the shape of lambs (like those seen in the women’s collection), provided a fun touch to the line. Browne said he was playing around with the idea of Little Bo Peep not losing her sheep when he came up with this “somewhat humorous” take on his popular animal bags. “We sell more Hector bags than anything else,” he revealed, referring to the bags designed in the shape of his dachshund.

Closing the book on resort, Browne said he’s now mired in the throes of designing the men’s and women’s couture collection he will show in Paris in July. Although he’s shown in that city for more than a decade, this will be his first couture show.

“At our 20th anniversary, I felt it was important as an American designer to show American designs in Paris,” he said, adding that the menswear he will include in the show will be one of the rare times men’s is shown on the runway during the women’s couture week.

Launch Gallery: Thom Browne Men’s Spring 2024

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