>> The rain is beastly today, but that didn't keep Trish Goff or Alexa Chung — who arrived with her hair soaked — from the front row; Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi's baby, too, had a front row seat atop a minder's lap.  Anna Selezneva opened the '90s grunge-inspired show, which featured dresses in holographic prints, lots of texture in both the fabric and ruffled panels curving around skirts and pieced onto dresses, and a finale full of highlighter pink. Cut-out wedge sandals finished off every look. Now, the question becomes: who's going to dare to wear the metallic silver Barberella-esque bustier dress?

>> Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi found a hit with their Preen "Power" bandage dress and siphoned that success into this year's diffusion line Preen Line — which has been doing so well the designers are said to be mulling a separate runway show for it at the upcoming London Fashion Week.  The same line of thought — reworking what already works — is how they approached their Cruise 2010 collection — hence their trademark bandage minidresses, cutouts, and shimmery fabrics from past seasons made new with a little texture.

>> New York Fashion Week is known as the springboard for new faces every season, but for Fall 2009, it's become the springboard for comebacks — especially with models right around the 30-year-old mark.  This morning, Frankie Rayder (34), who hasn't hit a catwalk since the Fall 2004 with the exception of Spring 2009 Givenchy, walked Michael Kors.  The runways of Preen, Rodarte, Alexander Wang, and Marc Jacobs have been especially overrun with these mainly late-'90s, early-00's faces — from those who have hovered in and out the past few seasons: Anne Catherine Lacroix (29), Natasa Vojnovic (29), Caroline Ribeiro (29), Jamie Bochert (28), Christina Kruse (34), Carmen Kass (30), Colette Pechekhonova (28), Hannelore Knuts (31); to those who have exited the runway for a while — Tasha Tilberg (29), Kirsten Owen (38), Trish Goff (32) — all are booking some of the most coveted spots this season.  Kors, Behnaz Sarafpour, Staerk, VPL, and Diane von Furstenberg are feeling it too — the mature woman is back in New York.
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>> There was an "icon revival" casting call this season, and so far, Trish Goff, Tasha Tilberg, Natasa Vojnovic, Christina Kruse, and Hannelore Knuts have all been circulating the runways; joining a couple of the aforementioned this morning at Preen: 38-year-old '90s androgynous icon Kirsten Owen and early-'00s Belgian face Anne Catherine Lacroix — who else will show up next?

Also making appearances at Preen — Kanye West, who was a no-show for his front row seat at United Bamboo yesterday morning, Anne Christensen's kids, who played with the clear plastic covering the runway before the show, and Sir Philip Green, who raised eyebrows yesterday at Alexander Wang and is in town for the big Topshop press conference tomorrow morning.

In addition to their stellar standby cut-out minidresses and pleated pants, Justin Thorton and Thea Bregazzi did some experimenting for Fall 2009 — a big, bold, houndstooth print appeared more than a couple of times, and there was a surprising set of candy-colored rainbow dresses toward the end.  Pronounced shoulders, random patches of fur on jackets, bold metallics, and cut-out leggings emerged here in addition to other runways — those and structured, uneven hems — see Karlie Kloss's miniskirt; trends in the making?  And for the showstopper: a seriously chubby pastel fur chubby, worn by Anja Rubik.
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>> The line to get into the Roseland Ballroom, where Alexander Wang showed his Fall 2009 collection, went down the entire block and around the corner — it stayed this way for a good half an hour or so after the show was scheduled to start . . . This season brought in the attendance of Alex's first big celebrity front row — Sarah Jessica Parker; also in attendance were Diane von Furstenberg, Patrick Robinson, and Philip Green of Topshop, the latter sparking some questions.  Green said Anna Wintour had just suggested that he come check the show out . . . Wang's obsession with Hooters continues — they provided the backstage catering . . . Alex wrote a sign backstage for the models promising "tequila shots for those who don't fall!!!" . . . Fur was worked into his collection for the first time . . . Anna Wintour brought Bee Shaffer along for the first time (lots of firsts); usually she just comes to Proenza Schouler and Marc Jacobs.  Does that mean Alex has moved up into Proenza and Marc territory in Anna's eyes? . . . Among the model cast were a few '90s and early '00s faces — Trish Goff (who's also supposed to walk Preen tomorrow), Tasha Tilberg, Natasa Vojnovic, Christina Kruse, and Hannelore Knuts — runway comebacks in the works?
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>> It's hard to imagine being pregnant and designing hot little minidresses for other women to wear, but when you're Thea Bregazzi, one half of design duo Preen, and those hot little minidresses happen to be what your label is known for, that's just what you do.

The heavily expectant Thea stayed across the pond in London while her partner in design and life, Justin Thornton, carried on with the label's show today. He carried it well — everything went smoothly, save a slight wardrobe malfunction for Anja Rubik and the confusion that ensued at the end of the show, when Justin didn't appear at the end of the runway and no one knew when to start the final applause.

As for the clothes, the dresses with intricate paneled cutouts and peekaboo zipper slats, the piquante shots of tomato red, and the sexily laced up pleated skinny pants came together for a more refined collection than we have seen from Preen in the last couple of seasons. Maybe Thea should be pregnant more often . . .
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