Taking place in a lofty Manhattan space, the FW23 show marked Heron Preston’s NYC homecoming and a return to a runway show since the pandemic for the brand. Having previously shown in Paris and L.A., the designer showed in New York, the brand’s birthplace, for the first time as a solo show.
The show opened with a classic NYC NPC moment, where a man wearing an orange safety vest was seen painting the concrete floor with white paint. The collection was heavy in utilitarian wear – there were workwear inspired trousers and shirts, ‘security’ vests, and chainmail was used on a skirt, top, dress and headpiece – as well as sportswear-inspired pieces such as ski goggles, motorcycle gloves and flame-decorated boxer shorts.
The show opened with a classic NYC NPC moment, where a man wearing an orange safety vest was seen painting the concrete floor with white paint. The collection was heavy in utilitarian wear – there were workwear inspired trousers and shirts, ‘security’ vests, and chainmail was used on a skirt, top, dress and headpiece – as well as sportswear-inspired pieces such as ski goggles, motorcycle gloves and flame-decorated boxer shorts.
What mainly stood out at Heron Preston’s show was his ability to connect with the wider New York-based community, creating looks that embodies the cool kids of the Upper East side. Clothes were mismatched in a Gen-Z-reinvented Y2K way, such as in one look which saw a model wearing a denim corset on top of a white sweater with blue lettering, paired with ripped white jeans and furry boots. The collection also offered a lot of graphics, in line with the brand’s core aesthetic, including a HP varsity jacket featuring an alien and two iterations of a ‘Sport Performance’ buttoned blouse.
Other standout pieces include Preston’s take on inflated fashion through a full black and white-lined suit and a pair of white puffer pants, fur jackets and an oversized vintage-looking leather jacket paired with a graphic-printed pair of jeans. We can already see the S.T.F.U. caps sell out in a manner of seconds.
Aptly named “Anything Goes”, Heron Preston’s show felt like a little bit of everything was sprinkled into the collection – but in a good way. Considering NYC’s hugely diverse community of kids – the sheer dress served for the SoHo nightclub girl whereas the graphic tees and HP caps felt like a nod to the Astoria skaters – Heron Preston has managed to capture all of them in an ode to the community-based backbone of the brand.
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