Preen by Thornton Bregazzi Fall 2022 Ready-to-Wear

Asked about their best memories from Heaven—the storied London nightclub where the Preen show took place—Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton laughed: “We literally can’t remember!” Possessed by the spirit of youth culture, their show served as a universal memory of a timeless youth: the years when resourcefulness breeds creativity, your political spirit awakens, and you live for dancing the weekend away.

The designers invited their friend Viviana Durante—the artistic director of the English National Ballet School—and her students to stage a performance on Heaven’s dancefloor choreographed by the dancer Monique Jonas. The talented young dancers of all genders put on a dynamic performance, which showed off the Preen collection in the light in which it was intended.

Bregazzi and Thornton had researched every youth-driven subculture under the 20th century moon, from the Blitz Kids to the New Romantics, the Suedeheads and the Modettes. Mutual to all was a necessary resourcefulness that created exuberant wardrobes made from both literal and figurative patchworks of repurposed garments. The designers interpreted that idea into a collection that chopped up the wardrobes of subcultural history and hybridized them in new manifestations.

It created a mishmash of colors, patterns and lines, which often felt 1980s. “It’s the post-punk period of history—Thatcherism and everything—and it was such an interesting time,” Thornton said. “When you look at what happened then, there was huge wealth and huge poverty, and what came out of it was so creative and amazing.”

In a United Kingdom that’s hardly ever been more displeased with its Conservative government, there was a certain relevance to be found in the Preen collection. Add the fact that the pandemic’s stolen years have had a crushing effect on young people, and you could see how a version of the subcultural ’80s might emerge anew. But, “we don’t want to be angry about the situation,” Thornton said. “We want to move forward and show joy,” Bregazzi concluded.