Inside Story

Overlooking the Hollywood Hills and the iconic Sunset Strip, designer Thom Browne welcomed 55 of his closest friends and collaborators to the rooftop terrace of the Chateau Marmont on a warm late spring evening to celebrate the opening of his first West Coast flagship store in Los Angeles.

“It’s a very full circle moment for me to be back in L.A. and opening my first store here,” Browne told Vogue at the intimate dinner. “I spent almost five years here in the ’90s—formative years for me, both personally and as a designer. L.A. taught me I am a designer, and that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”

As Vogue reports, Browne originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, but his time in the city ultimately shifted his focus toward fashion. He met Johnson Hartig—who would go on to found Libertine—and was inspired by Hartig’s creative work with vintage clothing. Browne began experimenting with tailoring, shrinking and reshaping vintage suits to develop his now-iconic silhouette. His budding interest in fashion was also nurtured by jewelry designer Sarah Jane Wilde and Lisa Love, Vogue’s longtime West Coast editor.

“I met the most creative and special people here through Lisa,” Browne reflected. “My best friends are Johnson and Sarah Jane, who truly inspired me to become the designer I am. Every time I come back, it’s so nice—these are the people who have supported me for decades.”

The store offers the full universe of Thom Browne menswear, womenswear, footwear and accessories. Browne officially christened the new store on Wednesday, May 28, by throwing a seersucker-themed cocktail party for friends of the brand. He reunited with many of his longtime pals—including Hartig, Wilde, and Love—at Thursday’s rooftop dinner, turning the occasion into a two-day celebration. Together, the back-to-back gatherings underscored Browne’s deep connection to Los Angeles and to the creative community that helped shape his early vision.

Celebrities like directors Barry Jenkins and Lulu Wang, both longtime supporters of the brand, joined the festivities. The new boutique, located at 8408 Melrose Place, is tucked behind a pristine ivy-covered façade and reflects Browne’s deep affinity for mid-century modern design. Inside, the 2,000-square-foot space is divided into three rooms featuring sleek gray marble walls, terrazzo flooring, Venetian blinds, and furnishings by Jacques Adnet, George Nakashima, Dunbar, and Edward Wormley—all personally selected by Browne.

The evening began with a lively cocktail hour on the Chateau’s rooftop terrace. Guests—naturally dressed head-to-toe in Thom Browne, their looks tagged with his signature red, white, and blue grosgrain ribbon—sipped Champagne and admired each other’s sharply tailored ensembles. From pleated skirts and shrunken gray suits to breezy seersucker and polished black-tie, the crowd delivered an unofficial runway of Browne’s greatest hits.

As chairman of the CFDA, Browne made the rounds graciously, greeting guests including Teyana Taylor, a devoted fan of the brand. He also huddled with Jenkins, Wang, and filmmaker Janicza Bravo before catching up with Leighton Meester, one of the first celebrities to wear Thom Browne on the red carpet. “My friend and stylist said, ‘You should wear this Thom Browne suit,’ and so I did,” Meester recalled, referring to the 2010 Gotham Independent Film Awards. “It was perfectly made and so timeless.” Meester, accompanied by her friend, jewelry designer Jaime Hargreaves, praised Browne’s role in ushering suits into women’s red-carpet wardrobes—and for helping men embrace skirts with similar ease.

Ke Huy Quan, the Oscar-winning actor from Everything Everywhere All at Once, shared that he’s worn more Thom Browne than any other designer during his recent awards season. “I’m not a big guy, and I just love that his clothes fit me really well,” Quan said, dressed in a double-breasted pinstripe suit. “It’s classy, it always looks great, and now that there’s a store here in L.A., it’s even better. I used to have to drive all the way to Costa Mesa!”

As the sun set over the hills, guests including Yara Shahidi, Bob Harper (The Traitors), writer Gary Janetti, singer Maggie Rogers, and stylists George Cortina, Brad Goreski, Thomas Christos Kikis, and Erica Cloud were ushered into the penthouse suite for a candlelit dinner of roasted salmon and petite filet. Before the meal began, Browne stood to toast the room: “Being here with so many people I’ve known for a long time—you’ve all inspired me, both through your work and through who you are,” he said. “The work I do exists because of the work you do. Indirectly, you inspire me more than you know, and I want to thank you.”

The evening ended with berries and cream for dessert, a sweet send-off for a crowd clearly eager to visit the new boutique. With nearly 120 stores worldwide—including recent openings in Palm Beach, the Upper East Side, and an upcoming location in Tokyo—Thom Browne’s world of disciplined tailoring and conceptual cool is more accessible than ever.

“I love what I do,” Browne said. “But more than anything, I love seeing how people wear it. That’s the real magic—how fashion lives.”

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Photo Credit: Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock.com