Michelle Obama Wears Thom Browne On Inauguration Day: Who Is He?

There’s a new addition to Mobama’s regular and proudly patriotic roster of great American designers (that Jason Wu’s had a rather good week hasn’t he?) and he’s called Thom Browne. The reason that you may not have heard of Mr Browne before is because he’s predominantly known as a menswear designer since launching his eponymous line in 2001 after cutting his teeth at Ralph Lauren and Club Monaco. Of course Michelle’s nipped and tucked steel-coloured satin dress coat she wore for Inauguration Day – replete with an embellished waistband - is quite obviously not a men’s piece. 48 year old Pennsylvania-born Thom has also been creating a women’s line for over two years now, and this piece, although inspired by the current Resort 2013 collection, is a custom-made creation. In preparation for New York Fashion Week chatter (eyes will undoubtedly be more on Thom than ever before with the power dresser’s stamp of Made-In-The-USA approval) here’s a gallery of five things you need to know about the man in question...