Once in a generation, when fashion seems content with its own familiar silhouettes, a designer emerges who disrupts the rhythm. With a sharp eye and an instinct for reinvention, they take what the world assumes was complete and reimagine it. Critics and consumers applaud likewise. It’s rebellion. It’s a play on tradition. For our generation it’s the rare visionary, Thom Browne, with his instantly recognizable red, white, and blue grosgrain.
The brand’s fantastic theatrical display of opulence was all built on a singular idea: How far can we push the idea of a simple grey suit? From this provocation has emerged a body of work that lies on the intersection of art and fashion. Browne’s collections unfurl in unusual settings like Noah’s Ark (FW 2020), or aliens visiting Earth “in peace” (SS 2026), or a grayscale desert landscape with a life-size crashed airplane (FW 2023), or an eerie snowy atmosphere with a towering tree wearing a massive coat (FW 2024).
All of these shows carry a sense of whimsy, which makes you wonder about the designer's childhood (and your own too). But shockingly, he did not dream about being in fashion, while his parents wanted him to do well in academics and be physically active, and his mother also wanted him to be a part of the arts and culture circle to have a well-rounded and holistic growth. Perhaps the most formative image, however, was his father’s daily uniform: a suit worn to work without question. It is this very symbol of routine and conformity that Browne would later transform into an empire of possibility.
His play on codes of menswear feels liberating, for it breaks the monotony of the boring black suit and tie. Browne’s genius lies in the tension he creates with the juxtaposition of formal tailoring with childlike mischief. A few of our favourite looks are -
Janelle Monáe via instagram
This deconstructed masterpiece was made in collaboration with the Oscar-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell. Playing with the idea of a traditional tuxedo, Browne creates a trompe l’oeil suit cape in mohair adorned with white grosgrain to create visual lines (and shapes) to guide the eye.
Under the cape lies the actual look—half black, half red, deconstructed with visible hand-basting and cross stitches, exposed facing, and shoulder pads in white silk faille to respect the process of making the suit. The suit is donned over a corset and white cotton oxford shirt.
To top it all off, she has a motorized monocle on her left eye, a direct reference to Alice in Wonderland
2. Doechii
Doechii
Creatively, Doechii and Browne share the same spirit; they just have different preferred media of communication. The perfect blend was obvious at the 2025 Grammys when Doechii performed in a blazer that Browne refers to as a “sportcoat” with matching sack shorts, with red, white, and blue armband detail. Later she revealed to a custom demi-cup bra with a matching “jockstrap” brief, encapsulating the Thom Browne world of blurred gender roles in just one look.
Doechii also wore a cropped raglan-sleeve jacket with matching high-waisted pannier trousers over a tuxedo-style corset to receive the award for Best Rap Album.
3. Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo via instagram
For her massive year of WICKED, Cynthia donned a few Thom Browne looks. For the Met, Browne made her a look that she herself described as “walking through a garden while things are falling on me.” The dress was embellished with around 2000 pink silk moire petals and had 3D beaded insects like ladybugs, ants, grasshoppers, and butterflies all handsewn. Time and again Browne has proven his ability to create a narrative and communicate it via his ensembles.
