Fascinated by PREEN

On the last episode of Project Runway, Nina Garcia was the client that the designers had to dress. On the consultation she wore this amazing blouse, in which I though she looked marvellous. So I tweeted her asking who it was. Nina answered that the blouse was Preen (F/W ´11). Of course I needed to do some reasearch to share with you guys :)

Preen is Justin Thornton (1969) and Thea Bregazzi (1969). They met at the age of 18, at Isle of Man (UK) while taking an art foundation course. However the duo - and couple - did not start designing together before years later. After graduating Thornton designed for Helen Storey´s innovative collection "Second Life" while Bregazzi worked in styling.

In 1996 Storey asked Thornton and Bregazzi both to consult on her upcoming autum/winter collection. And so it began. In 1997 the duo launched their stand-alone collection - creating a buzz around individually crafted, deconstucted pieces that fused with the Victorian era with streetwear elements in a sharp tailored silouette. - Construction and deconstuction has fascinated the duos work ever since.

Since their S/S 2003 collection (London Fashion Week), the couple have begund to soften their gritty streetwear look for gentler shapes. A good decision which made them gain celebrity fans including Vogue´s Anna Wintour, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lindsay Lohan, Marie Claire´s Nina Garcia, Kate Moss, newly deceased Amy Winehouse, Paris Hilton... - the list can be made long, which is no surprice, I mean, who wouldn´t want to wear one of Preen´s amazing creations?

After checking through some of the collection I totally fell for the pieces in S/S 2009. (Paris´ dress to the right is from that collection).


Alexander McQueen nominated them as one of his top 10 young design companies a couple of years ago.

What are your signature designs?
A Preen signature design would be a garment which is craft-worked mixing opposing fabrics that would have an overall urban feel.
What is your favorite piece from any collection?
Each season we have new favorites, but it´s nice when we rediscover an old favorite in the back of our wardrobe.
How would you describe your work?
As an extension of how we are feeling at the time when we design a collection. The starting point for each new collection is the previous collection.
What inspires you?
People and life experiences.
Who do you have in mind when you design?
Not one particular person, each season is an amalgamation (is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form) of attitudes and feelings.
Who has been the greatest influence on your career?
No one person has been a major influence.
Is designing difficult for you? If so what drives you to continue?
Designing is not difficult, it is the fashion timetable and the pressure of business that are testing.
What´s your definition of beauty?
Individuality.
What´s your philosophy?
We don´t have a philosophy as such, as long as we are true to our own ideas and thoughts and it doesn´t and it doesn´t matter what others think.
What´s the most important vesson you´ve learned?
To always trust our instincts.

-Fashion Now 2

xoxo,
Vicky