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.
