For frequent visitors of Sotheby’s New York, the exterior of the auction house’s York Avenue location looked virtually the same this gray Wednesday afternoon except for one important difference. A smattering of fashion photographers could be seen capturing a handful of street-style stars as they headed into Thom Browne’s New York Fashion Week event, celebrating the designer’s take on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip phone.

Past Sotheby’s usual reception desks, employees of the fashion house clad in Browne’s signature suiting options greeted guests. The main event—a performance as minimalist and understated as any expertly tailored three-piece suit—soon kicked off in the institution’s large ground-floor space. As the gallery was illuminated by focused lights, identically outfitted models, actors, and influencers sat at austere desks as their apparent leader orbited the gridlike interior. The man removed each worker’s phone from underneath his or her desk, catalyzing individual bursts of careful typing. The event did not conclude until after each phone was once again tapped. After the typing concluded, each model marched out of the high-ceilinged room.

For design buffs, the event was rife with ample decor inspiration. Two Brutalist concrete columns anchored the floor plan, framing Browne’s signature red, blue, and white stripe that raced down the back wall and across the floor. The Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriters, steely desks, and metallic Jo Hammerborg lamps, and carpeting all seemed to scream midcentury office unrest. But as the acoustics swelled after a litany of robotic calls of “I’m not ready yet,” an alternative reading became more clear: Just as Browne’s detail-oriented vision can be subtly applied to clothing and electronics, so too can it apply to a seemingly mundane yet beautiful grid of office furniture.