once upon a midnight dreary…
in a snow-clad field idle and eerie…
a tree stands amid the haze, shrouded in silk moiré…
a thirty-foot chesterfield puffer…
the children come out from under…
eager to hear a grim, grim tale…
early in the twentieth century…
sem illustrated the silhouette…
now re-examined… deconstructed… exploded…
revealed in black and white…
the raven, wrapped in a stole of shredded tuxedos—strips of black mohair and silk, canvas and lining, grosgrain and labels. below her trompe l’oeil bodice in white silk twill, spirals of hand-embroidered, feather-like ribbons wind down a crepe wool skirt.
a school of ravens, in tailoring and coats with strong shoulders cut from military weight cashmere, hand-loomed tweeds, and bullion embroidery. among them, in wool flannel and velvet intarsia, stitched into white silk moiré. outerwear in shredded denim tweed, satin stitched roses, shearling, and leather is layered atop corsets that mimic cumberbunds.
black tie ensembles are deconstructed and transformed into modular panels which button on and off one another. these body-skimming looks give way to cinched silhouettes made of dissected tailoring. some in fun-mix tweed and tartan made of grosgrain ribbons, others in intarsia and wool cashmere—all defined by an hourglass shape.
their longwing, curved heels, and platform brogues are protected by a removable layer of waterproof vinyl. it’s there too on accessories, from the structured and soft mr. thom bags to the baguette, tortoiseshell bermuda bag, and handheld hector.
slow and steady, two figures in complementing black and white cashmere dresses. their gathered blouson capes in white silk satin and black moiré accented by bows. followed by boatneck poof dresses framed by intarsia cricket stripes and tweed skirts.
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 moire intarsia ravens. her hand-knit gold bouillon cardigan held tight by a corset topped-skirt finished with a white silk duchess poof skirt.
nevermore…
nevermore…
never, nevermore…
the thom browne fall 2024 women’s and men’s collection was brought to life by a special retelling of edgar allan poe’s the raven, narrated by american actor carrie coon.
