Lobster and the Whale

>> If Thom Browne had thrown in a squid or two into his under the sea childhood-inspired psychedelic vision in his S/S 13 menswear collection, that would have been a personal coup for my love of the film The Squid and the Whale (aka. the breakout film for Jesse Eisenberg before he became Mark Zuckerberg).  Instead, he went for the lobster.  Still, there's no getting away from it.  I am looking at this collection thinking of nothing but those opening bars of Lou Reed's Street Hassle, which featured in a pivotal point in that film.  That cinematic association takes nothing away from what was a joyous and surprising collection for Thom Browne.  We've come to expect proportion-defying layering and extreme silhouettes from this menswear maverick but did we ever think we'd see almost-twee gingham patchwork quilting, whale and lobster prints that are worthy of a Notting Hill yummy mummy's choice for the bedroom interiros of Kye/Mackenzie/Tarquin/similarly-posh-child's-name and sparkly mirror and glitter brooches that look like they might have been sourced from Etsy.  Oh dear, I'm not really selling this to you, am I?  The point is these are hugely positive surprises that had me beaming as I scrolled through this collection, so much so that I overstepped my boundaries in blogging about menswear.  If Thom Browne transfers any of this to his womenswear collection, which tends to be a NYFW highlight anyway, then I'll dance my way out of the New York Public Library (where he normally has his shows).  Throw a squid in there and I'll hunt him down and give him a tight bear hug that would inevitably crease up his immaculate suit.  That's exactly the sort of gesture of appreciation that whales, lobsters and felt-tip pen gingham checks deserve.