A few weeks later, during a showroom appointment in Paris, Browne explained that the season started with the plastic that people used to cover their furniture with in the 1950s and 1960s. “I like to develop fabrics that are both technical and classic,” he explains. He had used the material for shoe coverings in his previous collection. It is water resistant, so it is equally useful for the raincoats that open the men’s and women’s collections. The collection has no shortage of interesting materials, from his go-to seersucker and madras to the ingenious tweeds that are an increasing part of his repertoire.
Proportionate play was, as usual, one of his concerns. A mini skirt and an oversized sport coat for an off-kilter combo. Another look combined a shrunken jacket with an elongated button-down, a slip dress and another skirt, while a trompe l’oeil technique created a similar layered look from a unique sheath. His beloved dog Hector was another friendly motif. Browne gave the fit-and-flare poodle skirt, another relic of the 1950s, a makeover and placed the little pup on the bottom of a midi pencil skirt — call it a dachshund skirt. One piece on the rack that didn’t seem to be in these photos is a canvas barn coat. Martha Stewart wore it to the dinner party in New York, which was perfect casting.