London Fashion Week’s winning collection was by Preen by Thornton Bregazzi

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jun 14, 2021

Preen by Thornton Bregazzi has long been one of the half-dozen absolutely must-see collections of London Fashion Week, and its resort collection showed in a must reduced LFW on Sunday was very much the highlight of this largely digital season.

 
Staged to melancholic piano chords and shot on just one model wandering around a series of empty rooms, like a suburban villa up for sale, their one-minute-long video and collection had all the invention and initiative one expects from these very talented designers.
 
Working a robust romanticism, the duo of Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi showed beautiful flouncy tops and dresses, gather skilfully and finished with graceful ruffles. 

They are such assured designers that their assemblages of tinselly silks; silver lurex and metallic cottons manages to look uber natural and never forced.
 
Plus, their self-editing when it comes to colors was perfect, like the the ruffled candy pink and washed-out blood-orange gown worn with long coral silk gloves. Seen on a model posing dolefully behind an empty four-poster bed. 

 
Their tailoring wasn’t half bad either – to wit, the mannish double-breasted pantsuits composed of a beige kicking fabric.

All worn over some fantastic thigh boots – many laced up to well above the knee, other composed of swatches of silk that ended by enveloping the foot.
 
Working with materials culled from FCO-certified fabrics, recycled rolls, deadstock and recycled garments, Thornton Bregazzi has carved out a remarkable body work. 

 
From a wee boutique in Notting Hill, Preen has grown to win an impressive global following. The likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Bosworth, Beyonce, Rihanna, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts and Yara Shahidi, to the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Sussex and Michelle Obama have all worn their designs.
 
Some bright spark in Paris or Milan should really offer them a chance to work their magic at a couture house on the Continent. It would be great to see their rich imaginations at work on an historic brand. They are that good.
 
It’s true that in recent seasons, Preen has struggled to create compelling videos to do justice to their ideas, with runways off-limits to all designers. However, this sublimely moody fashion short, backed up by an idea soundtrack of Arrival by Dustin O’Halloran & Hauschka, felt like a real triumph.