Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
LONDON, United Kingdom — Could you imagine if the Bloomsbury set had biker boyfriends, hitched up their skirts and danced all night? Preen's Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton entertained a similar idea for Autumn 2016, focusing on the celebrated Sitwell sisters, a literary sisterhood prominent in the early 20th century, who were just as renowned for being peacocks as poets.
Throw in a dash of Cecil Beaton’s high society and a squeeze of punk princess via Malcolm McLaren, and you’re close to deciphering the decadent grunge collection that the duo paraded at the Tate Britain on Sunday morning — their catwalk lined with a bare forest of craggy pink trees.
From dark gothic florals to saccharine sweet furs and mirror sequins, this collection ran a powerful gamut of ultra-feminine fabrications treated with irreverent sensuality, like the way devoré velvet flowers were run through with stripes and cut into dresses with the ease of slouchy t-shirts. Towering on lace-up kinky boots, the silhouette tapped sweetheart bodice necklines and lingerie detailing to cut through the hefty volumes of velvet (a sheer iridescent textile did the same job) whilst the masculine edge of white poplin, black leather and lumberjack checks was a welcome palette cleanser.
The chilly interruption of turquoise and teal jacquards was less successful; worn under grey marle knits with cricket sleeves, these asymmetric dresses lacked the balance between modern and vintage details that their rosy red counterparts got just right. They passed by quickly, however, and were rapidly replaced by the collection’s traffic-stopping finale of delightful chiffon ruffled slips and slinky, shirred velvet numbers in semi-precious shades of garnet, spinel pink, fiery pyrite gold and carnelian orange. Wear those with bed hair and last night’s mascara — no preening required.
