Thom Browne

Thom Browne White Unicorn Chesterfield Wedding Dress, 2018

The white chesterfield dress is made in tulle and features a satin stitch unicorn and icon embroidery, with gold bullion, and hundreds of white tulle ribbons to create cloud-like fringe. The unicorn is intentionally camouflaged; rendered in delicately thin gold thread. This ensemble was featured in Browne’s first women’s show in Paris. His Spring/Summer 2018 collection was previewed at the Hôtel de Ville, and soon after, this ensemble was put on display in the Scared/Scular Gallery for the Costume Institute’s Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

The look draws inspiration from The Unicorn in Captivity tapestry, a cherished piece at The Met Cloisters. Sacred interpretations view the unicorn as a symbol of Christ, while secular interpretations understand the unicorn to be a groom bonded by marriage. 

The back panel is bordered by red ribbons, an allusion to the red drops on the animal's back in the tapestry, often interpreted as the juice of the pomegranate. A secular interpretation views the fruit as a symbol of fertility, making the red ribbons suggestive of menstrual blood. On the other hand, a sacred understanding can view the fruit as a symbol of the Resurrection, and imply the ribbons to be the blood of Christ. Browne's wedding dress, like the tapestry, touches on the complexities of sacred and secular ideologies. 

This dress was worn by Erykah Badu to host the 2017 Soul Train Awards. In 2018, Hoyeon Jung was styled in the dress for her V Magazine cover shoot.

Dimensions: 

Head Piece:

• Circumference: 128 cm

Coat Dress:

• Size: 40
• Length: 139 cm
• Width: 43 cm
• Shoulder to Underarm Drop: 25 cm
• Sleeve Length: 91 cm

Shoes:

• Size: 39
• Heel Height: 6.5 inches
• Platform: 2.4 inches