Thom Browne Tells Us Why He Loves Slim Suits And Hates Fast Fashion

It’s difficult to overstate Thom Browne’s influence on modern menswear. That slim suit you love so much, with the trousers hemmed so they just barely graze the top of your shoes? That probably wouldn’t exist without Browne, who ushered in a tailoring revolution about a decade-and-a-half ago with his cropped, close-to-the-body suits and jackets. And though he started out on a shoestring—due to budget constraints, his first “collection” was just five suits that he had made for himself—the New York-based designer is now one of the more powerful forces in men’s fashion, as admired for his slightly subversive runway collections as he is for his classic approach to tailored clothing.

For spring and fall 2016, he’s teamed up with Woolmark to create a capsule collection that falls on the latter end of that spectrum: traditional(ish) tailoring made from the company’s lightweight Cool Wool, which should have the suit-wearing public feeling pretty good about life when things heat up outside. We caught up with Browne to talk about how the partnership came together, what it feels like to be the man who helped launch the slim suiting trend, and why he hates fast fashion. Read more at Esquire.