Last year, Thom Browne skipped NYFW, focusing instead on his Haute Couture debut in Paris. Having triumphed there, he returns to the circuit with a bang, even taking out the honour of the closing show.

On February 14, in Hudson Yards, guests trudged through the sleet only to be met by more snow inside for Browne’s Fall/Winter 2024 show. As the scene was set, a towering scarecrow in a ginormous puffer coat and branches for arms stood watch over a sparse park. Behind it was a broken window that glowed with the dim warmth of a candlelight. If it sounds like something from a period horror flick, you’re not far off. The inspiration for this collection came from Edgar Allen Poe’s haunting 1845 poem The Raven—more literally than thematically, as there was nothing melancholy about these clothes.

The first ‘tell-tale’ sign was a white moiré coat knitted with flying birds. Then came jackets embroidered with the raven’s mantra, ‘Nevermore’, on the back, canes with gold beaked knobs, feathered headpieces and nails shaped into ebony talons.

Other motifs included roses, appropriately printed on outerwear and hosiery or jacquard skirts for a show on Valentine’s Day. Signature uniform-like separates hung off bodies, contrasted with ’50s-style structural shapes that drew emphatic silhouettes. Layers were prominent, whether in segmented styling, the Frankenstein-like jackets and skirts that pieced together stripes, tweed and leather with pleated and velvet parts, or the intriguing cocoon capes and dresses.

Hair and makeup were as much of a highlight as the clothes, with bug-like antenna braids by James Peci and Cruella Devil-inspired mugs by Isamaya Ffrench.

New and veteran model royalty brought star power through the likes of Kristen McMenamy, Jessica Stam, Anne V, and Alex Consani, who closed the show, emerging from a ballooning chrysalis in a metamorphic gold ensemble.

Despite being inspired by a poem about grief and loss, Browne invigorated his stark palette and preppy codes with such life and vibrancy that there was an uplifting sense of romance to it all. Or maybe love was just in the air that day. In a sweet (and viral) moment, Browne used his final bow to hand over a giant heart-shaped box of chocolate to his partner and Valentine, Andrew Bolton, in the front row.