The fantastical setting made the Hollywood and fashion guests appear tiny by comparison. Among those attending were Severance actors Adam Scott and Britt Lower, Naomi Watts, Demi Moore, Anna Wintour, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Andrew Bolton and Chloe Malle, Wintour’s successor at the helm of Vogue.
Browne, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Bolton’s husband, staged his celebration of nature’s spring awakening at the cultural centre designed by Diller Scofidio and Renfro between the Hudson River and the High Line. Bees, dragonflies, grasshoppers and ants populated his imagined world, alongside butterflies in stages from cocoon and chrysalis to brightly coloured flight.
Fitted skirts and corsets echoed the movements of invertebrates, while balloon dresses borrowed the colours of ladybirds. Models negotiated towering patent-leather heels with their eyes hidden beneath long fringes, lending the procession the air of a surreal fairy tale.
Even Browne’s signature accessories underwent a metamorphosis. The Hector bag, inspired by his dachshund, became a green caterpillar, while grasshopper clutches appeared in pink, orange, green and yellow. Familiar skirts, Bermuda shorts, shirts, ties and checked and striped jackets were covered with embroidered bees, dragonflies, flowers and moss.
The collection’s study of the natural world extended through its fabrics and construction. Mesh, silk, tweed, Oxford cloth and plaid formed decorated beetle bodies, including ladybirds, weevils, tansy beetles and Goliath beetles. Intarsia bikinis and anatomical blocks of colour recreated irregular frog markings, with silver lamé for a tree frog and navy wool twill for a poison dart frog.
A black widow appeared in black silk duchesse, silk moiré and mohair, complete with its distinctive red marking. Two-button halter waistcoat dresses suggested cricket exoskeletons, while an oiled-leather biker jacket formed the body of a fly paired with silk tailoring. A silkworm look combined a soft, brushed white alpaca-wool sports coat with a layered pleated skirt.
The theatrical humour continued an approach Browne had brought to the US Open earlier in September, when he dressed Naomi Osaka in a long white coat embroidered with tennis rackets.
His finale capped a fashion week that also featured Christian Siriano’s sheer fabrics and exaggerated proportions, alongside colourful prints by Henry Zankov, the new creative director charged with reviving Diane von Furstenberg. Established names including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors and Calvin Klein maintained their prominent positions.
The edition also marked a change beyond the runway’s silhouettes and spectacle: animal fur is now prohibited in collections included on New York Fashion Week’s official calendar.