Is a Dinner Party the New Fashion Show?

For the unveiling of his Spring Summer 25 collection, Thom Browne opted out of a fashion show and instead hosted an intimate star-studded soirée. 

With the fashion industry undergoing constant experimentation for brand visibility and newsworthy storytelling, designer brands are investing more in creating noteworthy, engaging events. It may have been the summer of Brat with audacious displays and a daring party-girl aesthetic, but Thom Browne has proved that quiet, intimate gatherings create just as much noise. After presenting his latest collection in June during Couture Week in Paris, the designer had yet to give audiences a glimpse of his unreleased Spring 2025 selection. 

While speaking about the inspiration behind the nature of the event, Browne shared that he hoped to demonstrate the wearability of the clothes and their incorporation within the makeup of one’s individual creative expression. Intimate and idyllic, the CFDA chairman chose to gather his esteemed guests for his no-press, hush-hush dinner at The Commerce Inn in the West Village with blue-haired co-host and “Oh Mary!” star Cole Escola. Inspired by the actor’s Broadway debut, the star-studded affair included the likes of Anna Wintour, Addison Rae, Martha Stewart, and Justin Theroux, all dressed in unseen Browne Spring Summer 25 ensembles. 

The decision to have the garments showcased on celebrities, multigenerational socialites, and media personalities instead of the traditional approach of being photographed on the catwalk was to put the wearability of the collection at the forefront, highlighting them in their truest form worn by varying body types. Holding the values of brand loyalty and community close to heart, the evening unfolded as a family-style gathering of laughter and toasting wine glasses. 

The soirée included a carefully curated interior adorned with candle-lit dining tables, signature grosgrain ribbons wrapped around the venue’s historic arches, and chalkboards outlining the brand’s beloved muse, a wiener dog, paying homage to Thom Browne’s very own dachshund, Hector. The sartorial details were not only exhibited in the bespoke venue but also in the storytelling of the Spring Summer 25 garments worn in the room.  The cosy familial fête became a joyous patriotic sea of four-bar emblazoned nylon tracksuits, madras plaid, and patch-pocket needle-stitched cotton suits.

With New York Fashion Week dominating in theatricality and commercialisation of heavily marketed brand events and collaborations, Thom Browne stayed true to his values of individuality: “I always felt like I am totally on my own, and I respond to people just doing their own thing, who present exactly what they want people to see of them,” the designer shared with Vogue. 

Fashion houses, in a desperate plea to remain in the cultural zeitgeist, primarily focused on social media virality and relevancy, have been climbing over one another in a popularity contest. Creating novel and unexpected spectacles has become the top priority for many brands when unveiling upcoming collections instead of revolving around the clothes themselves. Following Ralph Lauren’s extravagant Hamptons excursion, many left the 6-hour ordeal tired and complaining instead of inspired and in tune with the creator’s vision for the collection. The essence of the purpose behind such star-studded and publicised events has gradually faded. With his casual yet elegant affair, Browne professed his love for quintessential Americana.  

To conclude the evening, the cosy intimacy of the exclusive event was further illustrated with a performance by one of the evening’s dinner guests, St. Vincent, who offered a rendition of Meredith Brooks’s “Bitch.” In a city defined by its all-consuming adrenaline-filled buzz, a step away from the chaos, instead finding comfort and connection in one of the fashion capital’s hidden gems, proved to be one of this season’s biggest showstoppers.