Published
June 23, 2026
The courtyard of Palazzo Serbelloni was transformed into a garden in full seersucker bloom for Thom Browne’s first fashion show in Milan.
Staged at the brand’s Italian headquarters, the catwalk became a celebration of the designer’s signature codes: East Coast preppy, the tricolour ribbon, a greyscale palette and the ever-present seersucker. The brand’s entire aesthetic was on display, but with an even more playful twist.
Indeed, the garden came to life across the collection. Tailored looks sprouted oversized butterflies, frogs, crickets, ants and honeycomb motifs. A botanical-and-insect invasion, set to the soundtrack of “A Bug’s Life”, the animated film that inspired the designer in creating the Spring/Summer 2027 collection.
“I watched the film on the way back from Milan. I thought it was an enchanting story to play with, to soften the times we live in with a bit of lightness,” explained Thom Browne on the sidelines of the show.
Browne graduated in economics in the US in the 1980s and worked for nearly a decade at Moncler Gamme Bleu in Milan.
The models walked a scorching catwalk in boater hats, while half the audience sheltered from the sun beneath large black umbrellas provided by the organisation.
The show opened with three identical looks: a light-coloured striped suit with a skirt, faces veiled in sheer, beekeeper-inspired gauze, and the final model holding a watering can.
“I’ve been dressing men in skirts for 25 years. I like men to see collections and clothing differently and not be so rigid about the rules of menswear,” the designer explained backstage.
The second look was a Thom Browne classic: a grey cotton trench coat with a poplin shirt, paired with shorts in the same colour. This time, the model carried a travel bag in a lighter shade of grey.
As expected, the collection spotlighted seersucker, which the designer reworked to achieve a puckered effect on technical fabrics.
“I never go without it. It’s extremely personal. It’s in every collection, and I interpret it differently each time. Here, it’s in wool and cashmere and, of course, in cotton,” said Thom Browne.
The designer used various techniques—inlays, patchwork and textured embroidery—to cut silhouettes in scaled-down traditional proportions, with sleeveless coats and balmacaan collars, short-sleeved blazers and weightless sack jackets. The outerwear spanned Cordura trench coats, nylon parkas with funnel collars, car coats and technical field jackets.
After New York, Paris, San Francisco and Florence, Thom Browne has chosen Milan as the stage for his show for the first time. “Being here is an opportunity to refocus on the brand. Milan is my second home; I have my offices here. The people and Italian food are always a source of inspiration,” the designer explained.
In 2018, the brand was acquired by the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, under which the American company reached €268 million in turnover in 2025.
“I have a fantastic relationship with Gildo (Zegna’s chairman, editor’s note). He loves what I do and appreciates that we’re very different, but when it comes down to it, quality is all that matters. Nothing has changed since the investment, except that I now have more resources to develop the brand,” the designer noted.
“Asia has supported us strongly, and the United States and Europe are growing. The public appreciates what I do,” he added.
As the show progressed, the designer broadened the colour palette with increasingly vibrant looks. To grey, white, red and navy, he added yellow, green, pink and pale blue. The colours dissolved into a triumphant white for the final bridal look, the bride enveloped in a hand-embroidered tulle veil adorned with pearls.
After taking his final bow wearing a giant Muppets-style frog headpiece, Thom Browne, asked about a possible encore on the Milan catwalk, replied: “I’m here today, I’m enjoying this moment, and we’ll see what happens in the future.”
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