Heron Preston – creative director, content creator, influencer, and DJ – is widely considered to be a youth-culture icon. The designer’s impressive series of collaborations have consistently helped facilitate some of the most significant shifts in streetwear culture. Through his namesake label, he continues to push boundaries, tackling critical issues in the fashion industry.
Preston held his first formal Fashion Week presentation – UNIFORM, a collaboration with NYC Department of Sanitation emphasizing sustainability – in 2016 at the Dattner Architects-designed Spring Street Salt Shed in New York City. He approached Dattner Architects earlier this year to collaborate on the presentation of his Spring/Summer 2020 (SS20) Runway show – entitled “Concrete Jungle” – during Paris Men’s Fashion Week. Held at Palais de Toyko, Dattner Architects designed the show’s set, which features multi-level scaffolding wrapped in a skrim, using reusable, low-waste materials. Video projections of custom New York City street vignettes, lensed by Nicholas Heller aka NewYorkNico, were projected along the scaffolding. By maximizing the impact of lighting, sound, and motion, the set design is reflective of the eco-friendly, low-waste methodology that is central to the ethos of both Heron Preston and Dattner Architects, informing their collaborative history and the many intersections within their work.
Inspired by urban living, particularly New York City, CONCRETE JUNGLE embraces the dichotomies of city life, hybridizing signature elements of workwear and formal wear into a capsule of tailored and casual pieces with an emphasis on dynamic, multi-functional interventions. In addition to the set design, Dattner Architects collaborated with Heron Preston on a SS20 runway-only iteration of Tyvek suiting featuring 3D quilted triangles and foam-impregnated lining. Worn by model Alton Mason, the customized suit was the show opener, setting the stage for SS20’s collection of up-cycled and low-carbon production pieces. The combined SS20 menswear and womenswear collection was created using a pallet of organic materials, recyclable nylon and tweed, and pineapple leather.
Dattner Architects’ design portfolio has been widely regarded for its significant impact on the urban realm. We are proud to expand this through our CONCRETE JUNGLE collaboration with Heron Preston, and the presentation of his innovative, bold, and environmentally conscious work.
