Thom Browne is the new Chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). The fashion designer, who will take up his new role on January 1, was unanimously chosen, the US Fashion Association said on Tuesday.
In his new role, Browne follows in the footsteps of Tom Ford, whose resignation after three years as CFDA chairman was announced in late May. Steven Kolb, the organization’s executive director, has served as interim chairman of the board, which Browne joined in June of this year.
“I am very much looking forward to assuming the presidency of the CFDA. I feel a great responsibility to work with Steven and the CFDA team to continue the positive and important work of Tom, Diane (von Furstenberg) and Stan (Herman),” said Browne. “Also, I think it’s important to give back to the industry that has supported me so much over the past 20 years. I am so proud to be an American designer because there is so much happening in American design today that the world should see, acknowledge and truly appreciate.”
Thom Browne became a member of the CFDA in 2005, just two years after founding his namesake brand, and has been named the organization’s menswear designer of the year three times. Prior to his appointment, Browne served for a time as a member of the organization’s selection committee and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, a competition and program for young designers in which Thom Browne himself once placed second.
Thom Brown joins a list of renowned designers such as Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Norman Norell and Diane von Furstenberg as the new Executive Chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. His term of office will be two years.
The CFDA’s creative future under Browne
The future of US fashion and the nurturing of young talent will be an important part of his future role as President of the organization. In a statement, Browne opened up about his new role, emphasizing the importance of balancing creativity and commerce in the success of the US fashion industry. “My main message is that everyone should have every opportunity to succeed as a designer, but at the core of that success must be pure creativity.”
Browne’s own label has mastered this balancing act for years, its collections and especially its presentations are a mixture of American tailoring and a good portion of theatricality. It’s been just a few weeks since the designer’s last runway show in Paris, where the models transformed into characters from Cinderella, but he’s apparently set to return to New York for the Fall/Winter 2023 collections in February.
“Thom Browne understands the steps necessary to build an American fashion company that is both successful and respected by the global fashion world,” Kolb said of Browne’s company, which has been part of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group since 2018. “He started with a menswear collection in New York and grew his brand into a fast-growing, profitable company with a strong global presence.”