Preen by Thornton Bregazzi

Words Thomas Brooks

Through­out Fash­ion Week for both SS21 and AW21, many brands have used lock­down as an advan­tage for their col­lec­tions. Some brands have thought about how the indus­try can have a reset, and oth­ers take a nos­tal­gic route – ref­er­enc­ing inti­mate moments we took for grant­ed. Bregazzi and Thorn­ton are no dif­fer­ent this sea­son, like their SS21 col­lec­tion which was sole­ly based on the arts and craft work of their chil­dren, this sea­son becomes a sequel.

The brand’s col­lec­tion feels like an anec­dote and one can imag­ine, in time the per­fect rep­re­sen­ta­tion for what lock­down is as a col­lec­tion: “unhinged”. That is what the Thorn­ton Bregazzi fam­i­ly described them­selves to be at the sec­ond lock­down. This men­tal state that many relate to is per­fect­ly embod­ied in a col­lec­tion of 11 looks. Bet­ter still, the process and selec­tion for this col­lec­tion is dif­fer­ent to oth­er col­lec­tions that have been released; while many aims to intro­duce new styles in a mat­ter of 30 looks, Preen by Thorn­ton Bregazzi have reflect­ed on the cur­rent cli­mate and down­scaled the entire col­lec­tion. Using organ­ic or decon­struct­ed mate­ri­als from pre­vi­ous col­lec­tions – one can appre­ci­ate the inno­va­tion to repur­pose and upcy­cle. Bregazzi and Thorn­ton reflect­ed on the cau­tions of upcy­cling pre­vi­ous sea­sons in few of pro­duc­ing gar­ments that are hap­haz­ard, how­ev­er they were successful.

Inter­pret­ing their “unhinged” moment in text is dif­fi­cult to envi­sion, one would asso­ciate the effects of lock­down to be grey and depress­ing – how­ev­er by upcy­cling, the brand has shown our need to live again, albeit in a dif­fer­ent shape. Each look is dif­fer­ent from anoth­er, full of vibran­cy and colour – yet it feels safe and secure.

Preen by Thorn­ton Bregazzi have become the per­fect exam­ple for British excel­lence in the indus­try, the resilience and resource­ful­ness – and not yearn­ing far and wide for inspi­ra­tion. After wit­ness­ing this col­lec­tion, one has to ask: has the fash­ion indus­try actu­al­ly come to grips with the pandemic?