Inspiration... Preen

Autumn is only a few days away and I can not wait!! Although you wouldn't think to look outside with us having a late summer I hope it doesn't push the cooler weather back. Autumn and winter are my favourite seasons, mainly for these reasons - knitwear! tea, hot chocolate, scarves, boots, coats, Christmas! It is so much nicer seeing everyone and feeling covered up and cosy. It is nice to have a sunny day every now and then but I am generally stuck in doors doing work so it would be nicer for it to rain so I don't feel like I am missing out on anything.

I especially like to look at autumn/winter collections from designers to see if they can inspire me with my own designs. The colours are always rich, there is always layering and of course there is knitwear!

One of the designers I have been looking at today from Style.com is Preen for AW 12. Run by Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi who used the Victorian era and muses such as Beatrix Potter as inspiration. They used botanical and butterfly prints panelled into the garments to have a structured look and to contrast with the soft floaty delicate prints. They also used large 'brush stroked' prints on some of their garments which had been inspired by the Abstract Expressionist artist Jasper Johns.

I like how the collection starts off bold and bright with the panelling and structure the key focus in the garments and then the prints shine through with the bright colours. I also like how they changed the mood half way through, turning to darker colours of autumn and having prints that are quite minimal. Then it went back to having prints and pattern being the main focus again and then onto embellishment and layering being the key. I like the last part of the collection because I like how they used the original print from the beginning of the collection but darkened the tone so it looks smokey and then added layers of lace, embroidery and beading to give it texture and depth to the garment. I will definitely consider this collection as I am designing my own designs as it gives both the bright, floral fun look with print and the dark moody, lacy, textured look with embellishment.

(all pictures are from style.com)