Despite gathering a group of cynical fashion folk for a 5pm show on Valentine’s Day, Thom Browne made us believe that love isn’t dead. Maybe it was the red roses on our seats or the chocolates in branded tins that were handed out afterwards. Perhaps it was the oversized heart-shaped box that Browne handed his long-term partner, Andrew Bolton, that inspired a chorus of “awwws” in the room. Or maybe it was the show itself, quite possibly the most compelling and theatrical of the week, a fitting NYFW send off. Whatever combination of reasons, the crowd loved every moment of the spectacle and weren’t afraid to say so as they filed out.

Warm and fuzzy feelings weren’t exactly what one felt when you entered the dimly lit room. An ominous broken window in the centre of the runway coupled with barren trees, including a towering nine metre one swaddled in a puffer coat, set an eerie tone. As Anna Cleveland entered, clad in a tweed and a black headpiece, to the crowd’s surprise the largest tree began to move – it was a model on stilts. Suddenly, at the hem, children began to pop out, four in total. Like little chicks they flocked to their mother raven, Cleveland, who held them in a spell. The soundtrack playing while this was all happening? Naturally Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, as narrated by Carrie Coon.

In case the theme wasn’t obvious, Kristen McMenamy was next to hit the runway, clad in a coat covered in ravens and gravity-defying braids. Twisted and dark, the subsequent parade of looks highlight what Browne does best, take preppy, classic standards like tweeds and tailoring and transform them into works of art with a perverse, sinister allure. A trenchcoat gets the bondage treatment, courtesy of rows of straps that line the back while a resin dipped jacket resembles a black ooze infecting a rainbow-hued world. Waists were cinched and blazers were exaggerated, creating both slim and bulbous silhouettes in equal fashion. To accompany every look, waterproof vinyl boots and heels, adding to the forbidding effect.

Beauty, courtesy of Isamaya Ffrench, helped set the tone. Backstage, Ffrench described the look as classic in a way, with a bold red lip and feline-looking eye, courtesy of their partnership with Lashify, as setting the tone. There were a few models who received Swarovski crystals on their faces while others were given eyeshadow that brought to mind black veins or branches. The two hero looks, Cleveland’s raven and Alex Consani’s finale as the mantis, required special attention. For Consani that meant gold gilded braids turned into antennae as well as a face full of foil, complete with matching lashes.

At its heart The Raven is a tale of distraught love and the madness that entails from it. Coon’s voiceover plays beautifully into that role, with the shrieks growing in intensity as Consani emerged in a golden puffball cape. The children helped open it up to reveal a glittering knit atop a raven-printed silk skirt, given a sexy new life courtesy of Consani’s signature slinky walk, to close out the show. Browne wanted to send a message and it was well received. Be bored during a NYFW show? Nevermore.

thombrowne.com