How Thom Browne Became Lionel Messi’s Tailor Of Choice

Thom Browne’s biggest fashion show of the season wasn’t at Paris Fashion Week. It was yesterday outside Wembley Stadium in London on a short, impromptu, parking lot runway. That’s where F.C. Barcelona strode into the arena for their Champions League match against Tottenham, decked out head-to-toe in Browne’s signature grey suits, white oxford cloth button-downs, and black pebble grain wingtips. Barça forward Lionel Messi, arguably the most famous footballer in the world, couldn’t even wait till the match to ’Gram his brand new kit for his 98.8 million followers. F.C. Barcelona’s several-hundred-million-strong fanatics are used to seeing the team in Nike sweatsuits, but for the next three years, for every away Champions League and La Liga match, they’ll be repping tailoring from one of high fashion’s most visionary creative minds. It’s time for the non-fashion-speaking world to meet Thom Browne. (Neymar Jr., for his part, left this show review in Messi’s comments: “Nunca te vi tan guapo,”—I’ve never seen you so handsome.) Read more at GQ Style.