With Luella Bartley and Matthew Williamson electing to stay home this season, it fell to Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen to fly the British flag in New York. A sudden swell of buzz accompanied their ten-year-old label s stateside debut (having Agyness Deyn, already this week s unofficial mascot, in your corner will do that). If today s show didn t blow away those expectations, it offered more than enough reason to extend the brand s visa.
Each Preen collection exists within the context of the one before. "Where we left off with last is where we start," Thornton told Style.com. "It s always a journey for me and Thea." So last season s fixation on the eighties aggressions of Claude Montana or, if you prefer, Thierry Mugler (neon-pinks and new-wave zippers and pleats like the exoskeleton of an insect) softened into shiny satin wraps, parachute pants, and lace bodysuits—call it Versace territory.
Graphic body-con silhouettes alternated with slouchy sensual ones; silks mingled with suedes; and everything was worked up in a Saint-Tropez palette of sand, blue, olive, lilac, orange, and white. The active-sport touches—drawstrings and anoraks—looked especially good. What Thornton and Bregazzi do best is a mash-up of classics: silk blouses, trousers, and bathing suits, like the showstopper worn by Anja Rubik. Next stop, L.A.?
