What Gwyneth Paltrow did for Preen s "Power" dress in 2008, Naomi Watts did for their yellow dévoré "Norma" dress this past May. That photo op had Preen retailers recalibrating their orders. So it s no wonder designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi opted to use dévoré again for Pre-Fall, this time around giving it a Seattle grunge spin via bold plaids. If the Kurt and Courtney thing is a bit overplayed, they handled it deftly. This was a cogent collection with great-looking outerwear and no shortage of interesting knits, from an oversize Arran sweater to a cashmere with giant paillettes on the front. There was a notable elegance to the eveningwear (a nice change of pace from Fall s Star Wars motifs). An immaculate red lace dress had Oscar luncheon written all over it, but the highest impact came in a red silk faille top and trouser set with a peplum that defied gravity. That look was definitely more couture than Kurt and Courtney, and odds are it will hit the red carpet in very short order.
