Last night, Thom Browne’s fall 2024 show—which served as a dramatic closer to New York Fashion Week—had all the stars sitting front-row. Seulgi! Tierra Whack! Queen freakin’ Latifah! Sauntering in very last, however, was worldwide superstar Janet Jackson, who made a surprise appearance for her one-and-only show this week. She caused the photographers mingling about in the crowd to go wild, shooting off their flashbulbs at rapid speed.

Jackson—who attended Brown’s spring 2023 show in Paris back in 2022—tells Vogue that she will always make time in her busy schedule to take in the designer’s new collection. “I love going to Thom’s shows because there’s always an incredible story that he tells, and that’s on top of looking at all of his inspired designs,” she says. “Each garment that he showed could stand alone as a piece of art. The magic, the fit, the craftsmanship; he never ceases to amaze me.”

Janet Jackson and Queen Latifah

Photo: Matteo Prandoni/BFA

Of course, Jackson had to bring her own artful ensemble to the front row for the occasion. The star wore a long, tailored black blazer complete with a classic white shirt and tie. She topped the look with a white lapel coat, and accessorized with a tweed briefcase and sky-high oxford platforms. The whole fit was very on theme for a Thom show—and very worthy of an A-lister. “Once again, he put on a tremendous show,” Jackson says of Browne’s theatrical presentation of his collection, which nodded to the dark world of American poet Edgar Allen Poe. “It was absolutely brilliant; he’s one of the very best to ever do it. He’s a genius.”