Heron Preston Discusses His First New York Fashion Week Presentation
Written by SOURCE on February 11, 2023
Heron Preston has never presented during New York Fashion Week. That fact is a bit surprising considering how much inspiration he gets from New York City, where he currently resides. But that all changes at 6 p.m. this evening. Preston will present his eponymous label’s Fall/Winter 2023 collection in New York City for the first time.
“It hit a point where I just started missing that thing that kind of happens with fashion shows, where you have a community coming together to celebrate all the hard work that we’ve been putting into these collections. I’ve been living in New York City for the longest now and there are so many of my friends and family that haven’t been able to come to our past fashion shows in Paris,” Preston tells Complex. “I’m really excited to finally be able to invite them and for them to see the full breadth of the collections I’m working on. And for some of these people it will be their first fashion show ever. I think that’s really exciting – providing access through my brand to experience something new.”
Upcycling will be a focal point of Preston’s latest presentation. Three days ago, Preston posted a video on social media teasing the show. Shot by Justin Mariano, the clip showed Preston digging through garbage around New York City. He repurposed some of the items into his 400 show invitations. Those practices also informed the clothing, a philosophy Preston has coined “Less Environmentally Destructive” (L.E.D).
“There is a bit of a denim story that has all this patchwork from past seasons, that whole story is kind of like pointing to this idea of repairing your clothes to extend the lifespan,” says Preston. “I’m really excited about the chainmail texture that you’ll see and utilizing some ready made or found objects from the city. I’m happy and excited that it’s an ongoing program of exploring new technologies and incorporating that into the collections.”
Preston’s Fall/Winter 2023 presentation will also see the debut of a Ski and Snow collection, water sneakers, men’s fur boots, and the latest footwear in his ongoing partnership with Zellerfeld. The Zellerfeld project will be the sole collaboration seen on the runway.
“At the moment, my main focus is just HP for now,” says Preston. “Not to say I’ll never do collaborations again, I work with so many amazing people, but for this collection it will focus on just HP.”
Ahead of tonight’s presentation, check out out our full conversation with Preston about sustainability, what inspires him most in New York City, the state of streetwear, and more, below.
