When you hear the name Heron Preston, it’s not only his acclaimed label that springs to mind. Pioneering an accessible era of fashion, he has revolutionised old methods, injecting his love for culture across Miami and LA and now Paris Fashion Week.
Celebrating the launch of Heron Preston, we delve into his life, his creative projects spanning djing to publishing deals and the launch of his luxury fashion label under The New Guards Group.
@heronpreston
Who is Heron Preston?
Growing up in San Francisco, Preston often references the impact skateboarding had on him, the sport, the clothing and the culture. Printing t-shirts as a teen, he wanted to study fashion design but ended up at Parsons studying a design and management program, half a creative course and half business marketing.
I was interested in ideas and how I could market those ideas, just interested in culture in general
Fresh out of studying, his documentation of New York on his blog landed him a publishing deal. The idea was that New York City was the student body and the whole book was photographed on polaroids. He then landed a job as a marketing specialist and social media director for Nike, which he later said in an interview, his role was ‘to find everything in the city that was cool’.
Been Trill
The young designer started working with Kanye, becoming his art director, responsible for creating branded merch and later trusted to consult for the musician’s seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo and lauded adidas offshoot, Yeezy. It was here he made friends with Virgil Abloh and Matthew Williams.
They were a match made in heaven, djing at parties across the LA circuit, the three created t-shirts that caught on like a uniform.
image credit: www.grailed.com
The trio launched ‘Been Trill’ a streetwear imprint brand specialising in events and hype-worthy apparel. The label was donned quickly by a star-studded lineup with the likes of Kanye West, Asap Rocky and Rihanna to name a few.
As the Been Trill era came to an end and the designers wanted to pursue new ideas, Preston looked for his next ‘Wicked Issue.’ Fast forward to a day spent on the beach, mistaking a jellyfish for a bag of rubbish, the designer turned his focus on to the planet.
UNIFORM by Heron Preston – Sanitation Foundation
Heron Preston x DSNY – UNIFORM Collection
Teaming up with The Department of Sanitation in 2016, Preston decided he would create a collection completely made of out recycled and reused fabrics. In an unconventional avant-garde collaboration, the ready-to-wear collection was inspired by the employees’ work-wear uniforms.
With the mission to keep the clothing decomposing in landfills, while celebrating New Yorkers who kept the city clean and healthy, Preston repurposed decommissioned sanitation uniforms and thrift shop finds. Showcasing the collection in The Salt Shed, a restricted area of the city, the event brought huge public attention. The warehouse housed the salt they stored for when it snowed providing a desert-style backdrop.
When did Heron Preston launch his brand?
Off the persuasion of close friend Virgil, to create a full collection, Preston launched the Heron Preston brand in 2017. Showcasing the winter/fall presentation titled ‘For you, the world’ at Paris Fashion Week.
With streetwear expertise, the collection entrusted Italian manufacturing and combined function with experimental features. It included neon accents and emotive callouts and always maintained a focus on eco-friendly materials.
