About a month ago, Taro’s Origami studio was contacted about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They were asked to create the models for the runway show of one of the headliners of New York Fashion Week, Thom Browne. Browne, colloquially known as the GOAT of modern tailoring, and his team saw the Atlanta doves project that the Taro’s team had installed a few months ago and wanted their own spin on it for his show.

Studio Manager Frank Ling coordinated the doves, Founder Taro Yaguchi worked on the detailed models, and the Head of Corporate Projects Ben Friesen took care of the logistics. This project consisted of 3 entirely unique parts and was entirely completed in about 6 weeks. Each of the projects was meticulously curated to reflect Thom Browne’s unique aesthetic and went through multiple rounds of revision and refinement.

Everything was unveiled at the NY fashion week and Taro’s Origami Studio was thrilled by the results. Look below to see how the doves, roses, and miniature figures were accomplished.

1. The Dove Display

The first thing Taro’s worked on for NYFW was the massive dove display for the runway. Thome wanted something special, more complex handmade birds were sent over for the design team for critique.

After Thom’s team saw all the options, they decided to expand the project and asked for about 1,000 total models. This meant the models needed to get a little simpler to fold in the time frame, so Taro’s sent new options.

Thom loved the parakeets and doves. The parakeets were perfect because they could easily rest on the floor. The doves were chosen for their ability to hang properly. Once they were chosen in the correct paper colors and sizes, production began on the 1,000 models so they could be delivered to the runway and installed.

2. Thom Browne Origami Suit

As second and more detailed request was made of the Taro’s team after production on the birds started. Thom wanted a small human figure that he could place in a birdcage at the center of the runway. Taro Yaguchi himself began the task and worked on examples. At first the model was meant to be a simple artistic representation of the human form. The first couple versions were traditional origami without cuts as well.

But again, after seeing what the Taro’s team was capable of, the request changed. Now the model would be featured up close and as a result needed to be a direct reproduction of “costume” the simple grey suit that Thom Browne has become famous for. In fact, the New Yorker did an entire profile on how Browne’s gray suit has conquered American fashion.

With this change in direction came a newfound attention to detail. You can see below the entire evolution of the design. You can also see just how accurate the final model is to Thom’s famous look.

3. Origami Rose Bouquet

To top everything off, Thom also wanted a bouquet of origami roses. At the end of each of his shows Thom presents a gift to his partner and this year he wanted to stick with the paper theme. There were 2 main versions of the rose bouquet that we went through. The first version was smaller and more delicate, but that wouldn’t read from a camera far away, so we graduated to roses about twice the original size and with full 18 inch stems. Frank started the rose process, and then when Taro drove the suit models to the performance space, he quickly got the newer roses approved and folded them all on site over the course of the 2 days leading up to the show.

4. Runway Time

Lastly, after everything was created, Taro taught the runway models how to fold the origami birds. Thom’s idea was to has 2 models at the front desk folding throughout the rest of the show, so they needed to learn the basic origami steps. Then on Feb 11th at 5:00pm EST the invite only show began and Thom Browne presented his 2025/2026 Fall Winter fashion line to the world. Below are some amazing glimpses of the show and you can even watch a replay of the entire event. It was truly an honor to be involved and everyone at the Taro’s Origami team was incredibly proud of the results.