PastPresentFuture Collection 1
Since as long as Todd Thomas can recall, he’s been obsessed with clothing, with fashion. In classic mid-western,
Mid-Century style, his mother made sure the family was dressed and prepared for all occasions: back to school,
weddings, funerals, church and birthday parties. The return to occasion dressing is what Thomas is looking to
achieve with the debut of his new ready-to-wear collection, Past Present Future, at New York Fashion Week with
an intimate TriBeCa installation from Wednesday, February 5 – Wednesday, February 12.
Early memories suffuse Todd Thomas’s latest ready to wear collection Past Present Future. A past illuminated by
the rituals and events of a mid-century existence shaped by the occasions that these pieces commemorate and are
inspired by – the events of local life, celebrations, anniversaries, gatherings.
PAST
Thomas has been part of the New York cultural scene for more than 30 years. Comfortable uptown, downtown and
within various milieus, whether its art, fashion or entertainment, it’s his keen observational skills in identifying
and highlighting the aesthetic significance within each that has made him the go to collaborator / consultant for
leaders within these various scenes. He has created one of a kind, and iconic, costumes and garments for a
multitude of people including Cindy Sherman, Justin Vivian Bond, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Debbie Harry and many
others. As master tailor working exclusively with major A-List actors on red carpet appearances and with the
upper echelons of fashion creative directors such as Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West, Vera Wang, GQ, Carine Roitfeld,
founder of CR Fashion Book. Thomas is taking that precise fashion acumen out from behind the curtain, presenting
his own collection to be sold direct to consumer and curated for specialty retail partners.
PRESENT
Past Present Future is celebratory (every day is an occasion), sustainable (limited runs and local production) and a
culmination of his many influences—a love of craft, fashion history, classical style and social observations. Past
Present Future combines ready-to-wear with bespoke and offers multiple levels of access in price, silhouette and
fabrication – making pieces that are well made, elegant, whimsical and combine concept and functionality. For
Thomas, the present is about offering new levels of access to the experience of the moment. For this debut he
collaborated with renowned painter and longtime friend, Belinda Lee, to create custom digital prints based on
Lee’s ‘abstract squiggle’ paintings. These motifs printed on satin twill, spandex and duchess satin provide a
vibrant foundation for a collection of an “any season” assortment of item based pieces that combine traditional
occasional silhouettes fabricated in nontraditional combinations – wool crepe mixed with aviator nylon, printed
spandex and beading. Past Present Future offers expertly built evening pieces to be mixed and matched for
whatever occasions the wearer chooses. It is apparel to treasure.
FUTURE
The future is about new ways of analyzing, making and communicating fashion as well as new ways of framing our
identities through fashion. In uncertain times of fashion distribution Past Present Future looks at how we
consume fashion with an a la carte approach to the consumers’ participation. With an agenda to make and
distribute in new ways – real-time, intimate trunk shows, larger monthly and bi-month offerings…. Past Present
Future is about how we wear, participate in and make fashion with the intent to elevate the lives of all of those
participating in the process.
Past Present Future is about being able to bring fragments of the past into a present too often lacking the sense of
new prism with which to illuminate fashion process and system. A temporal transformation of the future into
fragments of past values and a rigorous gesture toward a present defined by the search for lines and textures that
allow differences and distinctions.
