Thom Browne: What a Sport!

Since 2009, when Thom Browne began designing Gamme Bleu, a men’s wear line for the ski-centric Italian luxury brand Moncler, he has focused on a different sport every season (fencing, fox hunting, Formula 1), turning each one inside out, giving it a good shake, and having a blast with the unexpected pieces that result. Now he’s bringing the concept to women’s wear, with a golf-inspired collection debuting for fall. From the carefully knotted ties worn with sheer blouses to the long, quilted Bermuda shorts reminiscent of plus fours, everything comes in brightly coordinated argyle and tartan—as if a circa-1960 Sears catalog had a happy collision with the Old Course at St. Andrews. Anchoring many of the looks is a natty down blazer—a staple of the men’s wear collections—which, for women, the designer has cut from a variety of luxurious materials, including fur and a sequin-spattered tweed. Unconventionally chic yet robust enough to withstand the roughest winter, the jacket sums up Browne’s charmingly old-fashioned idea that sports clothing should be not merely functional but also beautifully made and stylish to boot. “I concentrate on the tailoring,” he says, “and leave the technical details to Moncler.”

Hair by Peter Gray for Bumble and Bumble at Home Agency; makeup by Tracy Alfajora for DiorShow at Art Department; Models: Dasha Denisenko at One Management; Iana Godnia at Major Model Management. Photography assistants: Paul Park, Maru Teppei. Stylist assistant: Esther Kim. Location: The Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Trustees Room, The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.