All About Resort

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Onto a dinner attended at the weekend with Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton of Preen to celebrate their resort 2011 collection. We were at Asia de Cuba at the St Martins Lane Hotel. While I marvelled at the fact ALL of my contemporaries no longer eat carbohydrates (and look fabulously glowy and slimline for it) I sat next to Thea and we happily ate carbs - that dangerous foodstuff known as brown rice - with the Preen Resort 2011 lookbook opened out poster-size in front of us pointing at pieces and jotting notes.

Here's a preview, with commentary from the designers.

"This is our new long skirt. It has a tailored section at the waist. The skirt itself is sheer. So when you walk, you see leg. But there is a tube skirt that sits above the knee, so you see this graphic shape underneath."  PREEN

"We are slightly obsessed with jumpers at the moment."

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        "This is our new Power Dress. The straps move up and down. You can twist them."

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"The thing about resort," said Thea, "is it needs to have a bit of everything. It hits the shops in November, and this is when buyers need an injection to their autumn buy. This could be holiday wear for a hot or very cold climate [beach or ski], red carpet dresses, or party dresses for the Christmas and New Year period in Europe and America," she explains. "Or it is summer fashion in the southern hemisphere. For us it is also a chance to develop the ideas, shapes, proportions and colours that propel the label forward."

Hearing Thea explain resort so simply was pure pleasure. Time was it was known as "Cruise" but only 0.00001% of the world population go on Cruises in December so Resort it has become, and I properly love it.  The fashion-geek I am, I spent all weekend perusing resort and made myself a little trend report on Powerpoint for  posterity

Indeed so good is the Preen resort, and pre-fall collection, that the couple - who have a 20 month old daughter named Fauve - have said that these in-between ranges have been tripling in sales season on season. "We launched our resort line 2008 and since then it has become a significant part of our business."  

Looking at it you can see why. I am particularly loving their new full above-knee skirt shape, the shade of Preen red the designers use, and the animal print. Have decided every single item in the collection ought to take residence in my wardrobe asap.

"We put a lacy white bra over a white T-shirt. This is the skirt shape we are feeling for now."

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 "This is the dress I am wearing tonight," said Thea Bregazzi, "I'm wearing it as a dress, but the model here is wearing it with her legs through, like a playsuit. I love it when a piece has a dual purpose." 

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Photos: Style.com/Preen