Thom Browne is the latest American designer to announce that he’ll be sitting out February fashion week in New York.

Instead, the Zegna-backed brand will stage a dual-gender runway show, featuring his Autumn/Winter 2022 collection, on Friday, Apr. 29, just a few days before the Met Gala on May 2.

In an interview with BoF, Browne expressed the same concerns shared by other designers, including Council of Fashion Designers of America chairman Tom Ford, regarding the spread of Covid-19′s Omicron variant, which has caused manufacturing delays and staffing shortages. (After experiencing outbreaks in his Los Angeles-based studio and atelier, Ford canceled his Feb. 16 show.)

“We’re getting ahead of it as opposed to scrambling towards the end,” Browne said, adding that he will, however, release a digital project during New York Fashion Week that will “explore themes showcased in the fall collection.”

However, a Met Gala-adjacent show might be a greater marketing opportunity for the brand, anyway. The Costume Institute, where Browne’s partner, Andrew Bolton, is chief curator, will be celebrating the second part of its “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” exhibition, and presumably attract an international crowd.

”Andrew’s show has celebrated American fashion in such a strong way, the true creativity that is really happening here, and I’m excited to be a part of that,” he added.

As for the fate of New York Fashion Week this February, it’s expected that some of the designers who have already committed to showing may have to postpone or cancel, mostly due to the slow turnaround of samples at European factories dealing with Omicron outbreaks. The rejiggering may result in an even more fragmented fashion season than expected at this point in the pandemic.

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Tom Ford Cancels NYFW Show

Designer Tom Ford has made the decision to cancel his Autumn/Winter 2022 show — which had been scheduled for 8 pm on Feb.