In what appears to be a series of me showing off ever more obscure reference points for fashion, I bring you Thom Browne SS17. I’m not usually a huge fan of Thom Browne, it’s always a little too formal for my own personal tastes, but I understand its importance. Recently I’ve been coveting the occasional piece, I mean, who doesn’t want a bag shaped like a sperm whale? No-one I know. What I will say is that he always puts on a great runway show. Sometimes verging on the avant-garde, Browne always injects some theatre when presenting his new collections. For SS17 the runway only looks featured a merging of formal wear and huge feathered bird masks. I can only assume this is in homage to Georges Franju’s 1963 masterpiece Judex. The denouement of Judex takes place at a masked ball, where the hero wears a bird mask with his tuxedo. Sound familiar? If this isn’t an homage then it’s certainly a hell of a coincidence. I still don’t think it’ll catch on as far as menswear trends go, but at least it’s given me an opportunity to talk about one of my favourite directors.
