Preen
by
Thornton Bregazzi - Ready t o wear Preen was founded in 1996, and debuted at London Fashion Week back in 2001, juxtaposing feminine and masculine motives, building an aesthetic of darkly romantic and effortlessly modern looks which oftentimes appear on red carpets and are loved by celebrities across the world. For this collection Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi retreated to their pink cottage in the Suffolk countryside. Gathering inspiration from the more rural and British heritage such as furniture prints and motives, they built a small, nostalgic collection referencing more intimate moments. In their film we get to see models that interact with the rural environment, holding ducks inside the house or carefully posing with tree branches outside countryside cottages. This season is like a sequel to the SS21 which was built around the arts and crafts and their children. The collection is a pure reflection to the pandemic which changed our entire world - one moment you could be sitting on the couch in your PJs, the next you could be wearing a knit, with a long black skirt, fringed at the top, with a babushka scarf and a pair of black boots to attend a Zoom event. The silhouettes of the season are reflective of this environmental change 56
they are looser, more exaggerated with fringes, referencing 60s homeware prints. Using organic and deconstructed materials from previous collections the Thornton Bregazzi duo downscaled their collection to introduce 10 outfits, each would be unique due to its upcycled nature and this way they would further challenge the industry. Sustainability has played a big part in their recent seasons, and it only made sense to go bigger during a time when many are beginning to question their personal lifestyle and consumerism as a whole. And while one might think that a collection inspired by this change might be in grayscale, with many monotonous greys and black, we are seeing vibrant greens and blues, and a combination of reds and blacks, signifying that need to continue living and the spark of life despite the adversities.
