Why Cartier Was All Over Thom Browne’s Fashion Show

No one is better than Thom Browne at making the rich and famous wear designer uniforms. It started when the high-heeled demo eagerly wore his famous ankle-slim gray suit, the cornerstone of his brand and business. And over the past few years, Browne has succeeded in convincing many men to try the water. Now Browne is adding another element to his uniform: a Cartier tank.

Browne confirmed via email that stitched just below the sleeves of the models’ shirts at his recent Paris Fashion Week show were embroidered watches, mostly representing the Cartier Tank, with some little looks like a Rolex Day-Date. Like many things in his universe, this detail is stolen directly from the designer’s own wardrobe, with the embroidered version modeled after his own Tank. When asked what first drew him to it, he clearly said, “The Cartier Tank is the most timeless watch. The most perfect watch. It’s hard to argue with that: The tank was designed in 1917 and is still loved more than a century later.

According to Browne, the tank fits perfectly with the show’s theme. “The collection is an homage to the legacy of sophisticated French couture from the 40s and 50s,” he said. Browne seemed to be nodding to the French elite’s devotion to the Tank. “They say in Paris that if you’re an aristocrat, when you’re 21, it’s a rite of passage to be taken to Cartier by your father to pick up your first Cartier watch,” said Cartier dealer and specialist. Harry Fane once told me. Now, all Browne customers can dress like mid-century French aristocrats.

The Tank and Browne watch is another sign that the watch is entering the high fashion bloodline. While the two seem to rarely meet in the middle – fashioning emotional art and watching mechanical tools – they are starting to become more comfortable with each other. A few years ago, Alyx introduced its very own Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, and Hermès now produces its own watches that collectors love.