- Written by Ocean Hokins
Rethinking Solutions For the Future: Heron Preston
Updated: Sep 1, 2021
Heron Preston showcased what designers could do to address a time of turmoil. Using Design as a medium to move forward with a sense of hope and passion for the future.
Innovative, charismatic, and "influential" aptly define fashion designer Heron Preston's vision of his fashion collections. His professional training background includes having studied design at the prestigious Parsons School of Design. The eclectic multi-talented artist is a creative director, a DJ, and a designer. It can only be fascinating when he brings all of his various artistic facets to his fashion design adventure.
Following the success of the experimental project "UNIFORM" in collaboration with the NYC Department of Sanitation, Heron Preston presented his first collection "For you, The World" in the 2017 Paris Fashion Week. "For You, The World" introduced not only the iconic "СТИЛЬ (STYLE)" pieces, but more importantly, shared his humanity conscious blueprint of the HERON PRESTON brand.
Heron Preston 2020 Fall collection entitled “IT’S ALL GOOD, IT’S ALL FUCKED” was inspired by a poem by American poet Juliana Spahr. According to Heron Preston's Instagram feed, (to capture the full concept, we feel it is more suitable to quote the full description) "It’s a story about the friction between hope and despair. The idea that no matter how bad things may be, or how daunting the task, we have no choice but to move forward with a new sense of hope and passion for the future. I look at the world as the largest construction zone unlike one we have ever seen. It’s a work in progress where we can no longer retrofit failed systems but make new ones. The workwear in this collection symbolizes completely picking apart what doesn’t work and putting back together with better solutions and ideas. The collection also symbolizes change and the drive to tackle wicked issues without giving up. I always loved JFK’s quote while addressing the great space race “we do things not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
Heron Preston 2020 Fall presents a timely and relatable idea as, by the time the collection is released, the world is going through the rebuilding process of post-pandemic. Also, millions of people across America and the rest of the world take to the street and raise their voice in response to the killing of George Floyd and the ongoing problem of inequality in modern society.
The intention of this collection takes shape trough the list of collaborators including American Artist Kenny Scharf, British Ministry of Defense, and Caterpillar Inc. With the British Ministry of Defense, in particular, the collaboration celebrates the effort of UK troops on counter-poaching operations in Malawi. Recently, the British soldiers have assisted African Parks who relocated critically Endangered Black Rhinos from South Africa to Malawi in one of the largest international rhino translocations to date.
Articulated through the camouflage outerwear and cargo pants, Heron Preston brings the possibly overlooked efforts of protecting our nature to the street scene. Instead of merely putting up a tweet or Instagram post trying to tell the world some messages. Heron Preston shows us how designers or brands can be socially responsible by raising our awareness through their works.
The collection adopts the silhouette of workwear and combines with an earthy and sorbet palette of beige, black, blue, and orange. In some pieces, they are highlighted by the adapted logo and badges of the Ministry of Defense. The collection is imprinted with the concept of "REBUILDING". The set design of FW 2020 used Placo recyclable materials for the build. The closing piece is an elegant suit converted from recycled polyamide fabric, as simple as it may look, there must be an immense amount of work behind to the embodiment of "picking apart what doesn’t work and putting back together with better solutions and ideas."