Thom Browne holds a ‘Teddy Talk’ in playful toy-themed show

Apr 30, 2022, 8:45 AM | Updated: May 2, 2022, 6:23 am
Over 400 teddy bears are displayed at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show the Javits Center, Fri...

Over 400 teddy bears are displayed at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

(Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — The 500 audience members were sitting in neat rows, and they’d definitely gotten the memo on attire: All were perfectly dressed in a classic gray Thom Browne suit.

They were very quiet, too, perhaps because they knew Browne’s show Friday evening was a special occasion, held in New York rather than Paris where he usually stages shows, to coincide with Monday’s Met Gala. But also probably because they were stuffed animals.

To be precise, these were teddy bears, lined in tiny chairs to hear a motivational “Teddy Talk.”

It was yet another Browne extravaganza, more a slice of theater or performance art than a runway show, this time with an unusually playful vibe. In his narrated script, Browne — a consummate showman who is also one of America’s most successful designers — sought to educate the crowd of bears and humans (in bigger chairs) about finding one’s authentic self. In this case, Browne was saying, we all have a “toy version” that’s more exaggerated and crazier, but one that’s worth connecting with.

How did this high concept connect to fashion? That’s a question that Browne answers, luckily, with ensembles that are small feats of creative engineering. Here, his toy-store theme extended from countless versions of his classic gray suit, trimmed and pleated in brightly colored silks, to his whimsical handbags and footwear, like the alphabet-block purses and platform shoes, or the “Hector” handbags, inspired by his own dog, extended to toy ponies and other nursery creatures.

The show, staged in an airy theater on Manhattan’s far west side, began with two huge doors opening on an imaginary shop. A few shoppers entered in tweeds and tall, stovepipe-like hats, a vaguely 19th-century look. One group together carried an extra-long “Hector” bag, with three sets of handles.

“New York, where you come to find yourself,” announced the soundtrack. “A lifelong search, a lifetime of questions … finally and completely answered.” The “Teddy Talk” was beginning.

The speaker or “head bear” was dressed in a signature Browne gray flannel short suit, but with a teddy-themed hat and bear-like shearling gloves and platform boots. Via the soundtrack, he told his bear-filled audience about his favorite New Yorkers who had been lost, until they came to this store, “to find their true selves.”

A procession followed of 25 smartly dressed adults, both women and men in various tweeds and flannels but with the classic looks brightened with bright colors — red, white and blue trim, or sometimes gold and green. Their hair was styled in dramatic topiary-like creations amounting to head-topping modern sculptures. But the fantasy element was yet to come: a second procession of 25 more models, each a “toy version” of one of the previous 25.

These human toys had splotchy makeup and exaggerated features. The toys they represented were old-school, like Slinkys, those classic colored alphabet blocks, or jack-in-the-boxes. Each “adult” element was exaggerated — sometimes literally blown up to fantastical proportions. Accessories were particularly fanciful, especially those alphabet-block shoes — literally piles of blocks which, it must be said, were better navigated by the female models than the men.

In the front row was recent Grammy winner Jon Batiste, in a checked Browne suit, and actor-musician Leslie Odom Jr. in a cream-colored shorts ensemble, among others. Vogue’s Anna Wintour, three days away from the Met Gala she runs, was next to Andrew Bolton, head of the Met’s Costume Institute and curator of the exhibit to be launched by the gala, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” Bolton is also Browne’s life partner.

The culmination of the sartorial storytelling was a “meeting” of the two groups, when both the adults and their toy versions came back out, then turned to face and actually speak to each other, laughing and smiling.

Models laughing and talking on the runway? That may have been the most unique element of all. “Finding your true self,” the speaker intoned at the end. “Unique. Authentic. Confident. Always be true to yourselves.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
            
              The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
            
              The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
            
              Over 400 teddy bears are displayed at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
            
              The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
            
              Over 400 teddy bears are displayed at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
            Danai Gurira attends the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Antwaun Sargent attends the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) A model is dressed backstage at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Models get their makeup done backstage at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) A model get his makeup done backstage at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Models wait backstage at the Thom Browne Fall 2022 fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center, Friday, April 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) The Thom Browne Fall 2022 collection is modeled during his fashion show at the Javits Center on Friday, April. 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
23 hours ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
23 hours ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
7 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
15 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
15 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
22 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...
Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.
(Pexels Photo)...

Sports gambling can be fun for adults, but it’s a dangerous game for children

While adults may find that sports gambling is a way to enhance the experience with more than just fandom on the line, it can be a dangerous proposition if children get involved in the activity.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
Thom Browne holds a ‘Teddy Talk’ in playful toy-themed show