For Spring 2027, Thom Browne transformed New York Fashion Week into a fantastical garden where tailoring, insects and exaggerated proportions came together in a celebration of metamorphosis. 

For the final day of New York Fashion Week, Thom Browne invited guests into his garden. 

Presented at The Shed in New York on September 15, the Spring 2027 womenswear collection explored metamorphosis, transforming the designer’s familiar language of tailoring, uniforms dressing and checks through the colour and shapes of the natural world. At the centre of the set stood an enormous chrysalis, surrounded by oversized greenery and flowers, while caterpillar-like performers moved through the space before the first look appeared. 

Nature may have been the inspiration, but the collection remained unmistakably Thom Browne. Shirts, ties, structured jackets and precise checks appeared throughout, only now they were layered, reshaped and pushed into increasingly imaginative proportions. Madras plaid, tweed and tailoring sat alongside embroidery, applique and structural forms, allowing Browne’s familiar uniform to evolve without losing the details that make his collections so recognisable. 

The references to insects became more obvious as the collection continued. Ladybird spots and beetle-like markings covered rounded skirts, while fitted bodices took on the shapes and features of insects. One of the most striking looks paired a checked, shirt-and-tie bodice with an oversized skirt resembling a blue and yellow beetle, turning something as traditional as tailoring into something almost entirely unexpected.

Elsewhere, the details were more subtle and required a closer look. Grasshoppers appeared within jacquards, flies and moths were recreated in sequins, ants emerged in gold bullion thread and butterflies stretched across garments through colourful embroidery. Bees, dragonflies and other garden creatures appeared throughout, bringing colour to Browne’s unusual palette of navy, grey, white and red. 

That sense of play continued all the way down to the shoes. Mary Janes became bumblebees, complete with striped uppers, eyes and tiny wings, while towering platform shoes were decorated with oversized butterflies. They were playful enough to stand alone, but still connected directly back to the world Browne had created around the clothes. 

Even the beauty became part of the transformation. Models appeared with glossy, sharply rounded bowl cuts that hairstylist James Pecis conceived with the shell of a beetle in mind. Combined with red lips and the collection’s exaggerated silhouettes, the hair completed the transformation. 

Browne looked to A Bug’s Life as one of the collection’s references, bringing some of the film’s sense of humour and scale into the show. It emails the oversized flowers, tiny creatures and feeling that the audience had suddenly been reduced to the size of an insect wandering through the grass. 

Yet beneath all of the spectacle was a clear focus on craftsmanship. Embroidery, textured tweeds, intricate patchwork and embellishment sat alongside carefully constructed tailoring, showing that the humour of the collection never came at the expense of its precision. 

For Spring 2027, Thom Brown did not abandon the codes he has spent years building. He simply allowed them to transform. In his garden, a checked jacket could become a habitat, a skirt could become a beetle and a pair of shoes could be finished with oversized butterfly wings. 

By Sayhrah Noor Asif-Ali