Thom Browne started his eponymous label in 2001 with made-to-measure suits sold from a shop in New York's West Village, after several years leading the design department at Club Monaco under Ralph Lauren's ownership. His breakthrough was reworking the suit into a shrunken, closer-cut silhouette, built around his signature medium-grey Super 120s wool twill suit and its grosgrain-striped trim. Browne became chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2023.