New York Fashion Week just got a whole lot more surreal, and you can thank Thom Browne for that. For Autumn 2025, 2.000 origami birds filled the runway space, setting the stage for a collection that’s as much about freedom as it is about precision. Inspired by a pair of caged lovebirds, Browne transforms his longing into an exploration of self-expression, told through sharp tailoring, surrealist motifs, and a touch of theatricality.
The collection plays with contrasts — heritage tweeds reworked into unexpected silhouettes, oversized varsity jackets clashing with delicate crystal embellishments, and sculptural skirts that twist and reshape movement itself. A pair of tweed-clad “ornithologists” looked on as models walked in meticulously constructed looks that challenged tradition while embracing it in the most Browne-esque way possible.
There’s a collegiate thread running through the collection — a tweed football pinnie, a deep brown varsity jacket stamped with “65” — but this is no uniform. Instead, Browne reimagines classic tailoring with elongated jackets, strong shoulders, and fluid skirts ranging from micro to floor-length. His signature trompe l’oeil technique makes an appearance, too, with a 3,500-crystal dress that catches the light like a wearable sculpture.
And then there are the birds — not just in the air but on the clothes themselves. In a surrealist take on embroidery, herons with exaggerated legs and magpies clutching emerald-green crystals appear on coats and jackets, their forms created through an “exquisite corpse” design process. The effect is a dreamlike sense of movement, even when the models stand still.
That movement carries through in the fabrics, from bouclé yarns and shimmering silk ribbons to tweeds infused with feather-like threads. Browne’s signature red, white, and blue palette gets a jolt of energy with pops of canary yellow — a nod to his high school mascot. The silhouettes themselves feel like an evolution of his past work: skirts and coats sculpted by pleating, origami-inspired dresses backed with raw petticoats, and one final look that could have walked straight out of an old-world couture salon — a gold bullion-embroidered jacket worn over 40 meters of draped heritage tweed. You can almost imagine Doechii wearing this on the next red carpet, seeing as her latest fits suggest her as a prime Browne muse.
Accessories complete the fantasy: Hector bags, spectator shoes veiled in argyle stockings, and meticulous detailing down to the last stitch. Every piece is considered, every moment designed to tell a story of transformation.
With Origami, Thom Browne has challenged us to embrace the fantastical, to revel in individuality, and to dare to dream as boldly as the birds in his sky.
Discover the collection here.
photography. Sam Lort, Gregoire Avenel
words. Gennaro Costanzo
Fresh off their collaboration on Handlebars, 
