Preen’s show was a watershed moment for London fashion at the end (hopefully) of the COVID-19 era. A mask-less audience crowded onto benches at the legendary underground club, Heaven, and watched a contemporary dance performance-cum-runway show, live.
“Oh, the joy!” exclaimed Thea Bregazzi after the show, where students from the English National Ballet school performed wearing layered, draped, printed and patchwork pieces from Preen’s collection.
This was the first time in two years that Bregazzi and Justin Thornton staged a live show, and Bregazzi said they wanted to conjure “youth culture, exuberance, the joy of freedom and expression.” The designers worked deadstock, end-of-line and recycled fabrics and buttons into this collection, which Thornton described as a celebration of “individuality” and “opposites attracting.”
Models stretched, twisted and twirled across the floor wearing short kilts and baseball style jackets made from a patchwork of tweed and checked fabrics. Sweaters with clashing patterns sparkled with embellishments, footwear sprouted fur, while lacy tiered skirts, barely there lingerie tops and pink ruffle dresses swooshed and swayed alongside more substantial khaki skirts and silky quilted jackets.
There was a lot going on here, with fabric rippling, flying and stretching around dancers’ bodies. At times, there were too many layers, textures and varying lengths in a single look. It was dizzying, but it was also a jubilant collection, and no better way to mark the day when Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared an end to all COVID-19 restrictions in England after a painful two years.
