Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton are newlyweds whose world radiates the happiness of an intertwined family life and independent business. A glance through their Instagram account, @justinandtheagetmarried, shows surely the prettiest English country church wedding of 2017, a combination of Thomas Hardy via Laura Ashley in the ’70s and a family festival, held at their local church and rambling back garden in Suffolk. Will the sight of their daughters Fauve and Blythe, leading the bridesmaids in pink flower-sprigged smocks, and later pink sequined frocks to match their mom for the evening dance, set off yet another sprig of the Preen by Thornton Bregazzi business? “Well, we’ve always just done things organically,” said Bregazzi. “We keep going by following up on things we’re interested in.”
One thing tends to naturally lead to another around here. Back in their back-of-Notting Hill studio, the couple were showing their Pre-Fall collection, which will be released today. Their showroom looked even more akin to a bed of roses than usual, and not just because of the floral dresses hanging on the racks. “This is one of those things we thought we’d just try and see,” said Thornton, patting a hyper-floral riot of printed silk eiderdowns and cushions tumbling over chairs and a window seat. “I’ve got loads of vintage eiderdowns at home and my cupboards look like The Princess and the Pea,” said Bregazzi, “but when we looked, we found no one’s making them anymore, so we thought, why not?” Thus a soft furnishings offshoot has sprung up: Preen Home. “And there has been a great reaction to it,” Thornton remarked.
Some of the furnishing fabric prints—eye-vibrating red and purple, orange and green peonies, poppies—have spilled over into the Pre-Fall lineup of frilled-edge, handkerchief-point dresses. The late-summer crop is otherwise a breezy drift of their signature micro-floral chiffons and black lace ’80s goth dresses, interspersed with ruffled tailoring and rugby shirt shapes. All ready to try on, right now.
