Business of Fashion Interviews Thom Browne

In this sweeping fashion landscape, everything moves pretty fast. Companies come and go with the wind and trends are forgotten as soon as they’re worn. On the other hand, the prolific Thom Browne has managed to not only survive, but thrive in these conditions. Business of Fashion sat down with Browne for an honest conversation of his personal growth, with the designer revealing his approach to his company, his relatively modest start in fashion, and most importantly, how he’s maintained his success. A good read and inspiring throughout, be sure to read the full feature on Business of Fashion’s site, while key excerpts can be found below.

“I just knew I needed to stay in business. I’m stubborn, but I’m not foolish,” designer Thom Browne told BoF of his brand’s conceptual-meets-commercial balancing act. “Fashion is a business. As conceptual as you want to be, you do have to make sure that you approach it as a business. There has to be a commercial element to what you do.”

“I pretty much learned everything through my tailor Rocco,” says Browne. “I always knew that tailoring was going to be something that, if I was going to be in fashion, [my collection] was going to centre around. The most important thing for me is to make interesting clothes that are really well-made. That will always be fashionable.”

“I never seriously thought of changing anything, but I do remember thinking early on, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do if this doesn’t work out.’ So, there was that moment. But thank God it worked [out].”