Thom Browne doesn't do lunch. But he, like most of us, will make an exception for Harrods. In London to celebrate the arrival of his second collection of smaller-silhouetted menswear at the Knightsbridge store, he doesn't want to appear rude. "That's good for the GQ readers to know - he chose the focaccia," he says with a conspiratorial smile, sitting in the luxuriant surroundings of the Capital restaurant. Softly spoken, considered and often very funny, he fondly recalls disrobing for Terry Richardson for GQ Style ("The last thing you needed was to see me in another grey suit! I think even Terry was a little shocked"). Here he tells GQ.com about New York style, advising Barack Obama and turning down Mr Peanut...
Designing is so easy - it's the business that is hard. That's why you really have to respect Ralph Lauren - look at what he's done. Anybody who can sustain themselves should be applauded.
I don't still have the five suits I wore when I first started the label. I probably gave them away to friends of mine.
Walking through airports these days is the worst. It's not that I expect people to dress like me, in a suit, but they could try a little harder. It's really sad. I travel with two suits, a couple of shirts, running stuff: that's it. Travel lightly - that's the best tip.
I've always dressed the same. I've never made a fashion mistake. I've always worn utilitarian. I started my collection because I wanted certain specific things, but before that it was vintage and classic Brooks Brothers.
I was asked to design the tuxedo for Mr Peanut. They're rebranding him. That was probably the most interesting request. I didn't spent a long time considering it.
I think Mad Men was better at the beginning. It's a smart show and at the start, it was more about vintage clothing. Now it's so slickly stylised that it's lost a little of its charm.
Advice for my younger self? I've been pretty true to myself in how I've lived. I would probably figure out what I wanted to do earlier. Maybe just do it all a little quicker.
You can't really say actors are well-dressed any more. None of them really appreciate [clothes] because they have so much that's given to them. It's different how it was back in the Fifties and the Sixties. Of course, there was the studio system which worked with people, but it seemed more their own sensibility. I'm sure Cary Grant looked like Cary Grant in his off-time.
Most people don't realise how important Brooks Brothers is and was. When I worked with them, the first couple of months were spent looking through the archives: it the quintessential true American label. I wanted to do something in that world that was meaningful, that people understood why it was happening and was true to the brand.
Obama does look good but he could look better. The most important thing for politicians is to keep their clothes really simple and make sure their clothing actually fits. Obama is a really good-looking and is in really good shape... but I got burnt by this answer in the past. My brother is a politician and [in one article] I referenced him. Then of course I got a phonecall from him...
The piece in its entirety can be read
here.
