[calm instrumental music]
- Hi, I'm Thom Browne.
I am giving you an intimate look into
the steps that takes me from conceptual sketch
through fittings to Paris to the actual runways.
And this is "Sketch to Dress".
[air clacks]
The simple idea for this collection really started
from the idea of Noah's Ark.
This being a show with both men and women,
I wanted it to be the idea of pairs.
It came from that soft mark idea of the guy and the girl
looking the same and then I thought, well, Noah's Ark
with the animals two by two coming out of the ark.
The sketches are very conceptual at the beginning.
They really start with shapes.
A pleated skirt would be more of like a triangle.
A square would be more of a shorter jacket.
A rectangle would be more of an outerwear piece.
The look that you will be seeing
it's basically taking the classic pleated skirt
but actually pulling the pleated skirt to be worn
as almost like a halter top.
And then the coat and the shirt of the look
being the skirt for the look
and then the sport coat actually just on her shoulders.
And his shoulders, too.
I sketch this way
because I can't actually illustrate, at all.
Then I do get with my teams and then it turns into
a more workable sketch.
[air clacks]
From that conversation, the pattern pieces
created by a pattern maker who I've been working with
for a long time who is a genius pattern maker.
Then the muslin is made from those pattern pieces
and then the pattern pieces and the muslin
is fit on the actual model.
The muslin process is important, just it's a working tool.
It's really taking the idea of what the look
should turn into and fitting the garment on a body.
The most important thing is
to see that the proportion is working,
to see that it actually fits,
to see that it's something that's interesting in actuality
as opposed to just on paper.
So many of my collections do start from the idea of
how am I gonna make the gray suit interesting again.
The idea of uniformity that most people
think is not interesting or very constricting
and showing it to people in a way
that it almost turn into living art.
For me, that is where really every collection starts.
It's from that very simple idea.
Once the proportion and the fit is perfected,
then it really just comes down to then fabricating.
[air clacks]
This collection is based on primarily Harris Tweed fabrics.
I like the structured nature of the fabrics to be worn
and to almost get better with time.
The mill that we actually get it from,
the story is that you won't appreciate it,
your son won't appreciate it,
your grandson will actually appreciate the cashmere.
That's how good it gets over time.
For this particular look, there are a lot
of different specific finishings in regards to
it's not a full gray flannel skirt,
a coat actually is in a red stripe navy Duchess satin
that is tipped in red, white, and blue bullion tipping.
And then we go into making the samples.
90% of everything is finished here
and then flown to Paris.
We should be finishing that towards the end of next week
and then everybody heads to Paris.
[sewing machine clacks]
[upbeat instrumental music]
This is my atelier here in Paris.
I have it year round.
We have the showroom here, as well.
This is where we do all the hand finishing.
We have about two days to the show.
We are fitting the look that we've been talking about
through this story.
Things are fitting well, thank God.
Everybody's looking good.
Constructing it is hours in regards to having people
hand tailor and hand stitch the conceptual pieces together
in order for it to actually fit as well as it needs to fit.
[air clacks]
Casting for the was important because I wanted to make sure
that the pairings work together.
Making sure that you saw pairs that you had to question
which one was the man and which one was the woman.
It was important for me to have, for this look particularly,
two models that actually could really carry it.
This look I'm actually gonna put at the beginning
of the show because it is so important to the idea
of what the collection is all about.
With my shows, because they're not traditional shows,
it's nice when they're more comfortable being able
to do something different.
So that is probably the most important thing in casting
is working with people that actually can perform
in some type of wear.
[air clacks]
Finishing, for me, for anything that I do in my shows
is really important.
The finishing in regards to the tipping is done
in bullion as opposed to a more simpler grosgrain finishing.
The insert in the pleats are a silk insert.
It's a really specially made piece of clothing.
The accessories are, well,
they're all based on animals from Noah's Ark.
The idea of making bags in the shape of animals
did specifically start with Hector.
I've been making the Hector bags for a couple of seasons now
and we have an amazing factory that can actualize
these type of bags.
It was a perfect way of playing
with the story of Noah's Ark.
There's a rabbit, there's a deer, there's an ostrich,
there's 33 different types of animals.
I don't know specifically if all of them
were actually in the Ark but they were in my eyes.
[rain whooshes]
[air clacks]
The show's at the Bazar here in Paris.
It's a beautiful venue.
I love being able to put these stories in front of people.
The set is really playing with the story of these animals
coming from Noah's Ark.
A beautiful winter set with two doors on the set
that represent coming from the past
and going into the future.
You know, we have such a short amount of time
in regards to rehearsing with the models
on the day of the show,
making sure the choreography is working
and just getting ready.
- So you can walk a bit slower
and you have to keep your distance.
Keep your distance with the couple in front of you.
You walk not too fast and you walk through the first door.
It's not the same partner in the finale as during the show
so don't be panicked, we put you with the correct partner.
[calm instrumental music]
- Half of the hair is silicone coated
and the back of the hair is real hair.
They are veiled in this beautiful veiling
that has the embroidery of the animals.
And then the makeup is very simple and very sculptured
on the face but nothing too overly dramatic.
We do have professional dressers that we are very serious
in regards to making sure they know how to put the look on
up to even to the point of where to put
the tie bar on the tie.
The moment before the show there is some anxiety
but it is the time that I love.
And I love being able to put the story in front of people
but I also want it to be perfect
because there's so much time and effort
that we all put into these 20 minutes
that I want to make sure it's as perfect as possible.
[crowd murmurs]
[cheerful orchestral music]
During the show, I can't do much
so I just I kind of enjoy it with everybody else.
We start sales the day after the show.
And I do love people entertaining these are real clothing.
As conceptual as they are, it is shown on a body
so it is something that I would love for people
to be able to see in real life.
I have to say, after the shows I love the experience.
I just wanna make sure that everybody, especially my team,
gets the appreciation that they deserve
for all the hard work.
We all get to just appreciate what we get to do.
The show actually is the closure for this collection.
There's a little bit of downtime but it's onto the next.
[shoes clack]