Basketball superstar LeBron James’s love of Thom Browne’s mid century shrunken silhouettes has made
This is a short story of the mutual admiration society between one of America’s greatest athletes and one of America’s greatest designers. The pair, basketball legend LeBron James, and designer, Thom Browne, on the surface seem like an unlikely fashion match. At first glance, James’s sheer size and stature stand defiant of the shapes and sizes of Browne’s signature aesthetic of shrunken, mid century modern suits and silhouettes. As it turns out, the king of basketball is the ultimate Thom Browne muse.
Browne’s aesthetic vision is often seen as inaccessible by most, even polarizing amongst fashion-conscious males, and yet, Browne is considered one of the most important and influential American menswear designers. His following is cult-like, his revenues are in the hundreds of millions. He’s won men’s wear designer of the year from the Council of Fashion Designers of America three times. Even Michelle Obama wore a coat by Browne to her husband’s second inauguration.
Although it’s James’s penchant for Browne and how incredibly he wears the brand which has introduced the Thom Browne label to throngs of people outside of the fashion set, making James the most unlikely–yet sartorially-satisfying–ambassador of the brand.
The athlete had been a customer of Browne’s for years before James took the ball and, well, ran with it in 2018 when he enlisted the designer to create bespoke clothes for him and his teammates on the Cavaliers as they made their way through the season and into the NBA Finals. It was a pivotal moment for the visibility of the Thom Browne brand–all the clothes designed were completely authentic to Browne’s aesthetic but were placed outside of the context of fashion and firmly into the mainstream. The camaraderie between the two deepened two years ago when the athlete and designer collaborated on a nine-piece capsule collection for James’s Miami boutique, UNKNWN.
For a glimpse into James’s top Thom Browne looks, scroll the gallery below.
James arrives at a Lakers x 76ers game in Philadelphia wearing an appliqué and embroidery with navy
Browne’s logo is an understated red, white and blue stripe which is seen spread across a white
Browne is known for his shrunken suits which feature high pant hems, smaller jackets, and shortened
James steps out in a suit by Thom Browne.
THOM BROWNE
James styles the shrunken suit with tennis shoes and turtleneck.
THOM BROWNE
A mix of casual and dressy, James pairs a hoodie by the designer with a pair of shrunken trousers.
THOM BROWNE
Short suits are also a Browne signature as seen here. James styled the suit with a black hoodie of … [+]
THOM BROWNE
