Given Thom Browne is currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of his namesake brand, it’s no wonder the designer has been reflecting on the wide-ranging achievements of his two decades in business. First launched in 2003 as a modest collection of men’s tailoring, Thom Browne has evolved into an empire: spanning everything from blue-and-red-striped swimwear to handbags in the shape of his beloved dachshund Hector; from extravagant, avant-garde haute couture shown in Paris to eye-popping tweed jockstraps.
Yet there’s one area that Browne has never, perhaps surprisingly, ventured into: homewares. Now, he’s launching his first collection of crystal glassware, stemware, and scented candles, all created in collaboration with Baccarat. For Browne, a longtime admirer and collector of the esteemed French crystalware house, joining forces with Baccarat felt strangely fated. “It came from a place of pure appreciation,” he tells Vogue. “Everything that Baccarat does is done at the highest level, and every detail, from the construction to the final product, is thought through. Baccarat stands for true craftsmanship and I follow that same approach.”
Despite Browne’s typically iconoclastic approach to the codes of sartorial categories—the trademark shrunken fits of his tailoring, say, or the dramatic, deconstructed shapes of his couture collections—for his collaboration with Baccarat, he decided to place more subtle twists on some of the house’s classic pieces. First and foremost was the Yacht glass, created in 1925 by Georges Chevalier for the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris (and particularly beloved by Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales), to which Browne added his signature four-bar motif etched into the glass. “I really wanted to compliment what Baccarat does so well,” says Browne. “Taking classic shapes—some from their archive and some not—and adding my touch in the most subtle way.”
Elsewhere, you’ll find everything from wine glasses to tumblers to whiskey carafes, all gently updated with the Thom Browne stripes. As for why he took a more low-key approach to finding a synergy between the worlds of Browne and Baccarat: “I hope that people see my designs as a representation of classic American sensibilities, combined subtly with the French craftsmanship Baccarat is known for,” he says. (For anyone entertaining this holiday season, it’s also worth getting your hands on one of the new candles Browne has produced in crystal holders manufactured by Baccarat, which combine the smoky, masculine aroma of vetiver with more delicate Gallic scents like rose and grapefruit.)
With the various projects Browne has embarked on to celebrate his 20th anniversary—from a coffee table book to a capsule collection of classic pieces featuring a knitted “2003”—could this Baccarat collaboration usher in a new chapter for his ever-growing empire? In other words, when it comes to Thom Browne homewares, is this just the beginning? “You’ll have to wait and see,” he says, wryly.
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
