The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has announced Thom Browne as its next chairman, effective january 1, 2023. The CFDA Board of Directors unanimously elected the designer to the role for a two-year term. Browne succeeds Tom Ford, who completed his term at the end of May.

In 2001 the American fashion designer started his own label, acquired in 2018 by Ermenegildo Zegna. Browne became a member of the CFDA in 2005. He has been the recipient of CFDA’s prestigious Menswear Designer of the Year award three times: in 2006, 2013, and 2016. He was also a runner-up winner of the 2005 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. In addition to serving on the CFDA Board of Directors, Browne is a past member of the organization’s Admissions Committee and serves on the current Selection Committee for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. “I am very excited about taking on the chairmanship of the CFDA…,” said Browne in a statement. " I feel that it is important to give back to an industry that has supported me so well over the last 20 years. I am so proud to be an American designer… there is so much happening in American design today that the world needs to really see and recognize and truly appreciate."

“Thom understands the steps that are required to build an American fashion business that is both successful and highly respected by the global fashion community,” said Steven Kolb chief executive officer council of fashion designers of America.