Starting at Preen

After taking a few days to breathe after the Simone Rocha show I made my way across town all the way West to start work with Preen by Thornton Bregazzi. The Preen story is one of my favourites: Justin and Thea met when they were 18 and came together as a design team and a couple a few years later. They then went on to create Preen Line and also Mini Preen; every fashion designer needs a off-shoot line to dress their kids in, right?

I found out at my interview that 80% or more of Preen's manufacturing happens in house. I was really pleased as it would mean I would get to practice completely different skills to those I had at Simone Rocha.
In this first week I was amazed at how much I had already learnt/ brushed up on. I was taught about correct cutting techniques for different fabrics and how to cut fine fabrics through paper; the interns must cut out all the fabrics for final garments, ready for the in-house seamstresses to sew them together. It's the small things that make such a big difference and I really felt myself improve as the week came to a close.
I was also asked to toile a bomber jacket for one of the head designers and it was nice to be complimented by her and one of the other seamstresses when I'd finished. In addition to toiling, pattern cutting is another main task area the interns at Preen focus on. By the end of my internship I imagine I'm going to be great at making and tracing patterns!

Working seven day weeks is killing me but I am thoroughly enjoying doing something technical and improving on skill sets which will be invaluable when undertaking my final collection.