Thom Browne FW25 Wants You to Dream Big
Under a flock of 2,000 origami birds, the American suit master debuted a flight of whimsical formalwear that injected New York Fashion Week with hope.
At The Shed in Hudson Yards on Tuesday evening, Thom Browne closed down New York Fashion Week with a trance-inducing, fantasy-inciting Fall 2025 runway show that let everyone in attendance dream big. Under a sky of 2,000 origami birds, the likes of Queen Latifah, Adrien Brody, and Lucky Blue Smith small-talked in classic Thom Browne attire (fine, colorful, and exquisitely layered suiting, that is) while others took note of a glowing white cage placed gracefully in the center of the runway. Inside the miniature enclosure, two trapped love birds peered out at the flock of paper cranes, “longing for freedom,” the American designer explained in his show notes. The fashion spectacle that ensued before them was their whimsical dreams realized—a “symbol of hope,” said Browne.
At the show’s commencement, two parka-cloaked models emerged and perched themselves on a central folded desk, where they crafted more origami flyers and observed Browne’s whimsical entourage slowly reveal themselves from backstage: “a meditative expression of what folds and unfolds,” the designer described the scene. In contrast to the humble duo’s pragmatic looks, the show’s remaining 64 models (or “otherworldly visitors,” as Browne called them) embraced the whimsy that makes the label’s shows so riveting.
Their garb included heritage tweeds woven in England, bold-shouldered coats that swung to the floor with grace, shrunken argyle cardigans, cocoon-like jackets modeled after barrel-chested flycatchers and rich men’s suiting dunked in the label’s classic red, white and blue hues. 3,500 black, silver and clear Swarovski crystals appeared stitched into a trompe-l’oeil dress mimicking Browne’s signature suiting uniform, and more were draped from a big blue Hector bag (named and shaped after Browne’s very own dachshund).
In simple terms, the designer’s suits were pure works of art: some herringbone and houndstooth iterations featured birds rendered in satin stitch and gold bullion embroidery, while windowpane checks were rich with texture, thanks to kaleidoscopic strokes of acrylic paint down their torsos. In the end, a sweeping ball skirt with 40 meters of heritage tweed layered under a gold-embroidered suit jacket, in Browne’s most grand fashioning of the line’s symbolic muse, the “rare bird.”
“I feel like I’m experiencing my fashion dream,” one attendee whispered while Browne’s extravagant brigade scattered the runway. Judging by the opening inquiry in the American fashioner’s show notes—”How marvelous would it be to be exactly who we wish to be?”—the crowd’s inspired thinking was indeed part of Browne’s intention. His other goal, per usual, was to wow with some of American fashion’s best suits. And he can check that one off the list, too.
See Thom Browne’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection in the gallery above, and stay tuned to Hypebeast for more New York Fashion Week coverage.
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