Window AC units are still working overtime in New York City when Thom Browne invites a group of actors and writers to celebrate his fall 2025 collection in Amenia, New York. Though it’s a quick two-hour drive from the city, it becomes instantly clear that autumn is well underway upstate.
On a crisp September morning, Browne gathers members of The Gilded Age cast—Denée Benton, Louisa Jacobson, and Morgan Spector; actor and director Rebecca Hall; The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Sean Kaufman and Minnie Mills; actor Sydney Lemmon and her brother, Jonathan; GQ’s Samuel Hine; and me in the cozy Troutbeck Hotel library. All bemoaning the city heat, we’re ready to usher in the forthcoming season with an afternoon of fun and games before a black-tie dinner at one of the designer’s favorite local restaurants—cosigned by locals Hall and Spector, as well as Jacobson, who grew up nearby.
After our morning meetup in the library, we walk down to an intimate picnic against the backdrop of the property’s vine-covered stone footbridge and babbling stream.
Everyone is dressed in their fall finest, courtesy of Browne: Hall saunters down the hill in a sweet cardigan patterned with gray, pink, and white gingham, while Benton wears a plaid skirt suit with argyle socks, the pleated skirt appliquéd with geese in flight. Along with my wool trompe l’oeil shift dress, I break out knee socks for the first time since high school—though the gray pair with Browne’s signature four-bar stripe are certainly an upgrade.
After a lunch of roast chicken in a vibrant orange pepper sauce; salmon; and melon, cucumber, and mint on a bed of whipped ricotta, we dig into buttery biscuits, adding generous dollops of raspberry jam and clotted cream.
When dessert is finished, Spector and Jacobson both try their hand at fly fishing, guided by local fishermen. Jacobson slips a pair of waders over her three-piece pinstripe suit, looking placid as she stands knee-deep in the stream. For Spector, getting into the waders is more of a production, untying his knee-high lace-up boots with utmost care—though he decides to leave his plaid trench coat on in the end. Elsewhere, Kaufman heads into the water sans waterproofing, gray corduroy suit and gingham shirt soaked. Though Mills declines to hop in the water, she watches on from the bank, Kaufman playfully splashing her.