Thom Browne Wraps New York Fashion Week With Butterfly-Themed Show

Thom Browne brought New York Fashion Week to a close with a theatrical collection built around the life cycle of insects, staged before a front row that included actors Rachel Zegler, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Adam Scott and Demi Moore, along with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and museum curator Andrew Bolton.

The show's narrative moved from moths to butterflies, a theme Browne said was woven through every element of the collection. "The performance really playing with the story of moths becoming butterflies, and playing with idea of the insects in the garden and infusing that in the collection that starts with tailoring," he said, pointing to intarsias, embroideries and fabric developments that carried the motif. The finale, he added, was the monarch, which he described as encapsulating his approach to design.

Kai Schreiber, the daughter of Watts and Schreiber, was the centrepiece of the performance. Browne said she is an amazing dancer and that she approached him early about taking part. "I wanted her to be the central piece in the performance, and so it was really special to have her here," he said. Her father admitted to some pre-show nerves. "Actually, yes. I'm a little nervous. But that's okay. She's going to be great," Schreiber said.

Watts, attending her first Thom Browne show, said she was excited to see her daughter on the runway and praised the designer's school-uniform aesthetic, noting it carried a punky edge. Zegler, who attended Catholic school, said she loved how classic the clothes are and found them overwhelmingly beautiful.

Adam Scott described Browne's work as sophisticated yet distinctly American, always innovating while remaining true to himself. "You know that it's Thom Browne when you see it, yet it's evolving," he said.

Browne, who chairs the Council of Fashion Designers of America, also addressed the organisation's response to an incident on Sunday in which its chief executive, Steven Kolb, was seen physically restraining activists during a show. Browne said Kolb is taking a leave while an investigation proceeds. "We will determine at the end of what we find," he said.