Did anybody have as big a night at the Met Gala as Thom Browne? The designer dressed 21 guests in one-off creations—Demi Moore, Zoe Saldana, Lorde, Janelle Monae, and Nicki Minaj, among them. “It’s almost like a mini couture collection,” Browne said a few days after the festivities. We were Zooming about pre-fall, an offering that encompasses the other end of his business: the essential Thom Browne.

Like the fall collection, which was shown back in February but will arrive in stores, including new outposts in Palm Beach and Los Angeles, after this one, pre-fall emphasizes the wearability of Browne’s clothes. At the Met, Moore donned a sculptural gown in the shape of a men’s striped necktie, the loop creating a dramatic frame for her face. Here, the focus is on precise tailoring and proportion play in a range of fabrications—less high-concept, more classic. “The most important thing is for people to see that the collection and the business are evolving in the strongest way—to not take away from what people have always appreciated about my collections,” he explained.

The mesh basketball jerseys, number 65 for Browne’s birth year 1965, are cashmere, he pointed out. “I really feel like the tailoring could be sportswear as much as the sportswear can be tailoring,” he added. Browne has dressed his share of basketballers, but tennis and golf are clear references here, and deck shoes and duck boots are in the mix, as well. Expanding his accessories category is part of the brand growth strategy. The most interesting development in this regard is the addition of unstructured styles, like the new versions of the Mr. and Mrs. Thom bags in distressed leather.

That’s not to say Browne’s exacting vision has slackened. Those who wear his clothes like a uniform will recognize themselves in this collection. But pieces like a suede “jean jacket” and a work shirt in mohair tweed suggest a new softness that could entice new customers into his exclusive fold.