Last month, Thom Browne showed his collection at the Pitti Uomo menswear fair in Florence, eschewing a traditional runway show for an office diorama where Mad Men types furiously pounded away on typewriters. Browne, who appeared last night at GQ's toast for the six finalists in its Best New Menswear Designers in America competition, which he will help to judge, insisted that skipping Fashion Week here in New York isn't a snub. "I've been wanting to show in Europe for a while. It had nothing to do with not wanting to show here, I was invited to show there." Referring to the some of the manly, rugged looks on the menswear runways, the antithesis of his sharp designs, Browne said, "I never trend to or away from anything. So I hope everybody is just conscious of doing their own thing." He also noted that he's doing his bit to support local businesses: "I go out to dinner. Il Cantinori and The Four Seasons are my restaurants."

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