Thom Browne

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Thom Browne (* 1965 in Allentown , Pennsylvania ) is an American fashion designer who started a fashion brand named after him in 2001 and also worked as a designer for other fashion houses .

Life and company history

youth

Browne was born the middle of seven children into a Catholic legal family from Pennsylvania. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in economics , Browne moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career that didn't go beyond commercials . While in LA, Browne had started tailoring and wearing men's clothing from thrift stores.

Beginnings in New York

In 1997, Browne moved to New York City and initially worked in Armani's sales department . In 1999, Browne, who never trained in fashion, was hired by Club Monaco as a men's fashion designer, where he stayed until 2001. In the same year, in collaboration with the New York tailor Rocco Ciccarelli, he designed five gray men's suits that he sold to friends and acquaintances, rented a showroom in the Meatpacking District with borrowed money, and developed a men's collection in the top price segment by 2003. Eminently narrow cuts in the style of the 1950s and 60s were Browne's trademark right from the start, along with short sleeves and trousers that end well above the wrists or ankles and the decorative use of three-colored red, white and blue striped ribbons. The latter are, for example, attached to the outside of his suit jackets in the neck area as three-colored tabs. At first the buyers of the big fashion houses held back, but when Colette in Paris and Bergdorf Goodman in New York ordered, other retailers followed suit by 2004 at the latest. In 2003, Browne founded Thom Browne, Inc. and opened his own store in Manhattan . From 2004 he showed his collections in presentations at New York Fashion Week . In 2005, Browne designed Ewan McGregor's wardrobe in the film Stay , after the costume designer in charge saw Browne in one of his suits in Manhattan. Browne held his first major runway fashion show in early 2007 for the fall / winter 2007 season in New York.

Collaborations and expansion of your own brand

Thom Browne sunglasses from 2013 with company logo and three-colored tab on the glasses case

In 2006, Browne entered into a collaboration with Brooks Brothers and launched their upscale black fleece collection for women and men, which was launched in late 2007 and continued until the end of 2015. In 2006 the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awarded Browne the award for "Men's Fashion Designer of the Year". In 2007, Browne entered into a collaboration with precious jeweler Harry Winston on high-priced jewelry. Until the autumn / winter 2008 collection, Browne used three parallel stripes as a distinguishing feature for his fashion, for example on tops at upper arm height or on trousers at thigh height. After a dispute with Adidas who claim three parallel stripes as their trademark, Browne added a fourth stripe. In 2008, the Milan- based fashion company Moncler hired Browne to design the Moncler Gamme Bleu collection for men, which was first presented on the catwalk at the beginning of 2009 as part of the Milan Fashion Week and was finally discontinued in 2018. In 2007 the German and in 2008 the American GQ named Browne “Designer of the Year”.

In 2009 at the latest, it was reported in the press that Browne was on the verge of bankruptcy . In April, Browne hired manager Josh Sparks as CEO , and in August 2009, Browne sold 20% of his business to Japanese Cross Co. (renamed Stripe International in 2011 ), a womenswear company with its own stores in Asia. In December 2009, Cross Co. increased the stake to 67%, which Browne new capital was available and the management was relocated to Tokyo. In 2009 the Pitti invited Immagine Browne to Florence as a guest designer . In mid-2010, Browne presented his men's collection for the first time at Paris Fashion Week , where it has been shown ever since. In 2011, a full women's collection was added to Thom Browne's range, which has since been shown at New York Fashion Week . Michelle Obama is one of his customers . Browne also launched a unisex sunglasses collection . In 2012, Browne presented the short-lived, youthful Thom Gray collection for men with the fashion house Barneys New York . In 2012 he received the National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum , and in 2013 the CFDA again awarded him the “Men's Fashion Designer of the Year” award. Browne is an admirer of Rei Kawakubo and her fashion brand Comme des Garçons . In June 2016, the CFDA honored Browne for the third time with the award "Men's Fashion Designer of the Year".

In March 2016, the US private equity firm Sandbridge Capital took over the majority of the shares in Thom Browne. Stripe International and Browne himself remained minority shareholders. In July 2018, Thom Browne announced a three-year partnership with FC Barcelona as the official supplier for off-field players. In August 2018, the Zegna Group took over all shares in Sandbridge Capital and Stripe International , and has since held 85% of the company. Browne himself owns the remaining 15%. The first independent perfume of the house was announced for September 2019 after there had already been two limited fragrances ( N °. 1 and N °. 2 ) by Thom Browne with the now closed high-end department store Colette in Paris.

At the end of 2015 there were three Thom Browne stores: in Tribeca (since 2006), Tokyo (since 2013) and Hong Kong (since 2015). In mid-2018, there were 31 own stores worldwide. The brand is also represented in upscale retail worldwide. In 2009, the company's sales were an estimated $ 6.3 million. Women's fashion contributed 35% of sales at the end of the 2010s. Annual sales for the company at the time were estimated to be approximately $ 120-150 million.

Private life

Browne's partner is Andrew Bolton, who is a curator at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art . In August 2015, Browne and Bolton were included in the International Best Dressed List by the US magazine Vanity Fair . Browne's older brother Pat Browne (* 1963) has been a Senator for the Republican Party in the Pennsylvania Senate since 2005 . Browne is the owner of since 2015 Rauhaardackels named Hector, who in 2016 was among other handbags in Dachshund shape model and for what Browne own Instagram account leads.

Collections

current collections:

  • Thom Browne - men's collection in the top price segment, presented since 2003 at the Paris Fashion Weeks
  • Thom Browne - women's collection in the top price segment, presented at New York Fashion Week since 2011

former collections:

  • Thom Gray - high-priced, youthful sportswear collection for men in collaboration with Barneys New York, from 2012 to 2013
  • Moncler Gamme Bleu - men's collection in the top price segment, launched in 2009, presented at Milan Fashion Week, discontinued in 2018
  • Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers - men's collection in the upper price segment, from 2007 to 2015
  • Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers - women's collection in the upper price segment, from 2007 to 2015

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b John Heilpern: designer Thom Browne Explains the Virtues of Imperfection. In: Vanity Fair , September 2015 edition. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ Designer of the Year: The Incredible Suit-Shrinking Man , gq.com, August 31, 2008
  3. ↑ Designer Thom Browne: No problems with floods , manager-magazin.de, March 15, 2013
  4. ↑ Who is Thom Browne? , hollywoodreporter.com, January 21, 2013
  5. ↑ Designer Thom Browne: No problems with floods , manager-magazin.de, March 15, 2013
  6. ↑ Thom Browne Might be More 'Suit' Than You'd Think , businessoffashion.com, March 14, 2013
  7. ↑ Designer Thom Browne: Thom im Glück , manager-magazin.de, March 15, 2013
  8. ^ The Dapper Mr. Browne , nymag.com, August 28, 2006
  9. ↑ Mr. Wunderkind textilwirtschaft.de, June 30, 2005
  10. ↑ The Man in the Tiny Suit , esquire.com, September 27, 2007
  11. ↑ #BehindTheSeams with Thom Browne , cfda.com, April 1, 2014
  12. ^ A New Trend for Men's Wear , nytimes.com, October 19, 2006
  13. ↑ Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers: About , brooksbrothers.com, accessed November 8, 2015
  14. ↑ Brooks Brothers Discontinuing Black Fleece Collection , nytimes.com, Aug 6, 2015
  15. ↑ Adidas Lost Its Battle Against BVBA For The Three Stripes Trademark! trnds.co, June 20, 2019
  16. ↑ Thom Browne steals the thunder at Paris Fashion Week , latimes.com, 4. July 2010
  17. ↑ About: Awards ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , thombrowne.com, accessed: November 9, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thombrowne.com
  18. ↑ Thom Browne's New Deal , nytimes.com, December 3, 2009
  19. ↑ Thom Browne steals the thunder at Paris Fashion Week , latimes.com, July 4, 2010
  20. ↑ # 1005 Thom Browne - lost a CEO, but won the war , isaaclikes.com, December 22, 2009
  21. ↑ Inauguration: Obama's Day Begins in the Church , spiegel.de, January 21, 2013
  22. ↑ Michelle Obama Wears Thom Browne to Inauguration , nymag.com, Jan. 21, 2013
  23. ^ Designer Thom Browne: Guter Mann in Hotpants , manager-magazin.de, March 15, 2013
  24. ↑ Sandbridge Capital Acquires Majority Stake in Thom Browne from Stripe International sandbridgecap.com, March 12, 2016
  25. ↑ Thom Browne Makes a Play for Soccer Superstardom With FC Barcelona vogue.com, July 17, 2018
  26. ↑ Why Zegna Bought Thom Browne businessoffashion.com, August 28, 2018
  27. ↑ First perfume by Thom Browne mffashion.com, July 10, 2019
  28. ↑ Thom Browne Says Stay True to Yourself , businessoffashion.com, December 18, 2013
  29. ↑ Gildo Zegna, Thom Browne discuss investment WWD via pressreader.com, August 29, 2019
  30. ↑ International Best Dresses List: Thom Browne & Andrew Bolton , vanityfair.com, September 2015
  31. ↑ How the Chicest Dog in Fashion is Celebrating National Puppy Day crfashionbook.com, March 22, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Browne, Thom
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fashion designer
DATE OF BIRTH 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Allentown , Pennsylvania