PARIS MEN’S WEEK / — Designer Heron Preston showed his third womenswear and menswear collection for his eponymous brand, titled “Public Figure,” an aesthetic riff on influencer culture and self-declared celebrity. For inspiration, Preston decided to play with observations of his surroundings on the “influencer jet stream,” a term for the highly attended cultural churn of annual events, from Art Basel in Miami to global fashion weeks (one can find a list of such events printed on a shirt in the collection under a sparkling crystal globe).
In our current culture, “Public Figure” is a title one can select for oneself on Instagram, and the patterns and proclamations of these “Public Figures” are present in the details of Preston’s Fall/Winter 2018 collection.
Graphics in the new collection bestow pseudo-titles like “Influencer” and “Public Figure”, a playful take on the intensely curated self-display that we see en masse on social media, meant to be worn and made visible in meta-context. The labels appear across the front of camouflage pants—with a new take on the print that focuses on leaves with rich colors—as well as on denim jackets and polos. “If you buy a polo from Heron Preston you are an influencer,” the designer jokes. “Who is to argue that?”
For this season, Preston merges his covetable workwear aesthetic with new luxury materials, introducing a range of new accessories, including handbags, footwear, and eyewear. The first Heron Preston handbag, The Canal Bag, is a dual flap shoulder bag with snakeskin and calf-hair, designed with two pockets and a bright orange Heron Preston branded strap and complemented by the brand’s eye-catching orange pull tab with “Pull” instruction playfully printed on it.
A construction inspired thick sole boot comes in snakeskin, black and camouflage printed leather, with the “Style” logo printed in red. The collection also introduces sunglasses, with tortoiseshell and rose, black, and red and orange colorways with branding on the frame, inspired by glasses Preston was gifted (as an influencer, naturally) and wore himself. All branding, from the silver embossed Made In Italy to the signature orange label and serial numbers appear on the outside of accessories in the collection.
Photos courtesy of Preston Heron
