On the First Night of New York Fashion Week, Thom Browne’s CFDA Chairmanship Is Celebrated

Last October, America’s favorite designer of tongue-in-cheek tailoring and dachshund-shaped handbags, Thom Browne, was appointed chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America—a position previously held by Tom Ford and Diane von Furstenberg. His new post was immediately celebrated, but last night, Anna Wintour and the CFDA’s CEO, Steven Kolb, hosted a cocktail party to properly mark the occasion with a toast.

At the buzzy Nine Orchard Hotel’s just-opened Swan Room, a who’s who of American fashion gathered: Oscar de la Renta’s Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Tory Burch, Alexandra O’Neill, Brandon Maxwell, and more devotees of the designer, who donned their TB finest. Amy Fine Collins, Jordan Roth, and Sharon Hurowitz all turned up in visual odes to the codes of Browne; little tabs of red, white, and blue webbings poked out of shirt collars and the heels of shoes throughout the room.

“There’s surely no one who recognizes better what’s distinct about American fashion; its diversity, its daring, and its opportunities for a designer with a distinctive vision to succeed,” Wintour said of Browne in her remarks. She went on to share an amusing anecdote about sitting next to Browne on a red-eye flight to Milan for fashion week. “I slept in my not-so-elegant Delta pajamas, but Thom remained fully dressed, in his very chic suit and tie, not a crease out of place. He didn’t recline his seat an inch all night,” she told the room. “It me think that he was a sentinel, watching out for all of us and ready to leap into action.” Officially, he was the CFDA’s new chairman, but last night, Wintour dubbed him fashion’s new night watchman.

Throughout the evening, Browne, standing alongside his partner Andrew Bolton, seemed visibly moved. Kolb underscored this in his own remarks, telling guests that Browne reacted to the idea of the chairmanship with a “But why me?” sense of curiosity. “I don’t think he realized the stature he has in the industry, both here in the States and globally,” Kolb added. That was also clear in an email that Browne sent to CFDA members before the event, addressing them not as their chairman but as an equal, with a shared goal to inspire and to create.

“Let’s scare ourselves a little bit/ let’s tell stories that we are all proud of/ I wish I could see all of your shows in person; however, I am also challenging myself to create something memorable… currently, I am scared/ I am with you all in spirit/I am sending you all the best of luck” the poetic email read. Cynthia Rowley and Markaian’s Alexandra O’Neill—both putting the finishing touches on their presentations—expressed how profoundly moved they were by the note. “I was in tears,” shared Rowley.

“I am so proud and humbled to take this position,” said Browne, who closed the 90-minute event by thanking his fellow board members and his newly elected officers, Aurora James, Prabal Gurung, Stacy Bendet, and Maria Cornejo. “Ralph Lauren gave me my first job, and he is the reason why I’m a designer, but I have to say Andrew Bolton is the reason why I’m a better designer every day,” he acknowledged. “His commitment to making fashion worthy of being in the most important museum in the world is so inspiring, not only to me, but to everyone in this room.”

As the party came to an end and guests mingled, sipped on cocktails, and toasted to the newest CFDA chairman, there was a sense of excitement in the air as the fashion world looked ahead to the future, with Thom Browne at its helm.