In Thom Browne’s newest store, prep meets Palm Beach

If you’ve spent time in Palm Beach, Florida (or religiously follow the Class of Palm Beach TikTok account), you’ll be well-familiar with the typical Worth Avenue uniform: crisp white trousers, tropical prints and, of course, diamonds. American fashion designer Thom Browne is known for a slightly different uniform, one that consists of shrunken suiting, slate gray fabrics and woolen neckties.

The thing that unites these seemingly disparate aesthetics, according to Browne? A fundamental love of prep. Which is why he’s just opened his very first boutique in this tony Floridian enclave.

That DNA is translated into the label’s 1,500 square-foot boutique which, in quintessential Browne fashion, evokes a midcentury office with grey travertine walls and flooring; an illuminated panel ceiling; and mid-century furnishings—including a desk— by Paul McCobb, Maison Jansen and George Nakashima. Ready-to-wear hangs on simple rolling racks while accessories are tucked into a travertine niche.

It’s a ‘softer’ interpretation of Browne’s typical boutiques. And with palm trees swaying outside, it’s easy to see why the workplace aesthetic took a bit of a holiday: ‘I couldn’t think of a better location for our newest store,’ Browne said.

‘Being in Palm Beach feels so good,’ Browne told Wallpaper* in an emailed statement. ‘Mixing my world of classic Americana prep with the Palm Beach style feels so natural.’

What also felt natural was Browne’s affinity for midcentury modern design and Palm Beach’s 20th-century architectural heritage. The store, located just at the edge of the Lake Worth Lagoon, is part of the Royal Poinciana Plaza, a once pink-tinged, palm-fringed shopping oasis designed by society architect John Volk in 1957.