Designer Thom Browne’s return to New York Fashion Week with his fall/winter 2023 collection was nothing short of extraordinary.

After years of exhibiting primarily in Paris, Browne returned to his roots and wowed audiences with an otherworldly runway presentation at The Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards. Inspired by the classic novella, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Browne created a collection that is both fantastical and emotional.

The Little Prince is a story about a young boy who travels through the universe to gain wisdom and learn about the unpredictable nature of adults. According to Browne, he was inspired by how the story portrays children’s ability to see and understand things more clearly than adults. He hoped that his collection would create a fantasy that makes the world a better place to live in, like the way children view the world.

Browne created a theatrical and emotional experience that evoked deep emotions of loneliness, loss, determination, and exploration. The presentation began with a crashed airplane stuck in the sand, which recreated the plane crash in the Sahara from Saint-Exupéry’s story. The sand had etched in large numbers that suggested an hourglass and a clock. Above the plane, planets and stars hung suspended from the ceiling.

The runway presentation began with a model portraying a disoriented crashed pilot wandering in the desert. She was dressed in a white jumpsuit with articulated sleeves in white cashmere, styled with a mini button-back dress in hand-dyed blue seed beads and green silk thread fringes. The model then encountered the Little Prince, wearing one of Browne’s signature gray flannel tweed jackets with a four-stripe band on the arm. This scene set the tone for what was to come.

The subsequent scene featured models representing the dangerous baobab trees that grow on the prince’s planet. They were styled in sheer white organza dresses with high white hair buns and creepy long curled fingernails and toenails.

The fashion collection showcased on the runway was Browne’s best work yet. He displayed his masterful and fantastical prowess as a designer and tailor. The collection featured voluminous jackets, billowy shirts, tulle skirts, and beautiful dresses, all crafted in his signature gray flannel tweed. The designer used wool, cashmere, and silk fabrics to create a surreal world that evokes deep emotion.

Thom Browne’s return to New York Fashion Week with his fall/winter 2023 collection was a remarkable experience. The designer’s inspiration from The Little Prince created an emotional and fantastical world that evoked deep emotions in everyone who saw it. Browne’s masterful tailoring and design skills were on full display in the collection, which featured beautiful dresses, voluminous jackets, and billowy shirts, all crafted in his signature gray flannel tweed. The presentation was a true testament to the designer’s talent and creative vision.