Heron Preston Is Living Life on His Own Terms
How has your internal dialogue changed or remained the same over the years? Do you think doubt ever truly goes away, or does your belief in yourself just grow stronger?
It's changed as I've come to know myself and what I'm capable of. I've learned that if you can beat the little voice in your head telling you to give up, you can beat anything. Doubt doesn't go away. I've just stopped treating it as a stop sign. Going independent and taking my name back taught me that doubt and conviction can sit in the same room. You feel both, and you keep building anyway.
On a larger scale, it seems as though you work with the end in mind. Is that true for a partnership like this?
Yes, in two ways. With materials, I'm always thinking about where something came from and where it goes after someone's done with it. With the partnership, we're thinking long term. ComplexCon is a preview, not the destination. The bigger goal is to take materials recovered from the sport itself, like carbon fibre, metals and other components, and find out what they can become through design. Knowing that's where we're headed shapes every decision we make now.
How did you approach working with recovered materials and developing the eX-Ray concept?
When I started exploring recycled materials, I wanted to give that work a name, the way Gore-Tex or Vibram did. You can spot Gore-Tex because the logo sits right on the material, and you know a Vibram sole when you see one. Logos and branding have always been central to my work, so I thought: why not give this kind of work its own name and a symbol people learn to recognize over time? That became eX-Ray, a mark people can proudly associate with their values. Behind the mark, it's our most advanced L.E.D. (less environmentally destructive) line, where we develop fabrics ourselves instead of sourcing them conventionally. For this collaboration, that means recycled cotton made from pre-consumer factory off-cuts and deadstock pulled from our own warehouse.
Has this partnership changed your approach to design in any way?
No, it hasn't changed my approach. It strengthened it. Constant practice is important to keep myself sharp as a designer, and a project like this is exactly that kind of practice. Learning about how Formula E cars recover energy through regenerative braking was a good example. It's the same thinking we apply to materials, so it reinforced what I already believe rather than replacing it.
I have a visceral reaction whenever people tell me, “You can't do it all.” I feel like you have rejected that notion throughout your career. Do you believe someone can truly “do it all”?
Do all of what? We all have big lives to live, and we should make room to actually live them. For some people that means doing the most, and for others it means doing nothing at all. I think it comes down to what fulfills you as a human being. Aren't we all just searching for happiness? Don't we all just want to be free? When everything you do comes from the same place, it stops being “doing it all” and becomes doing one thing in different forms.
You work with a range of unconventional and recovered materials, and there is an imaginative quality to that approach. What awakens that deeper creative spirit within you?
Every day that I wake up. It's a new day, and I get to get back to it. Usually it's good weather, fresh air, the sun, the smell of the sea breeze. Knowing I have another day to connect with people and inspire the youth, and another chance to push culture forward. Knowing it's not over. Every morning I realize I can exercise my free will, and that's what unlocks freedom. Waking up is special.
Do you think becoming a father has given your work new meaning or further motivated your creativity, especially regarding sustainability and the desire to create a better world?
It's given my work ethic new meaning. I look at my daughter every day, and I have someone to take care of now: keeping a roof over her head, making sure she gets the best education. All of that costs a lot, especially in New York. So I have to go harder now and stay consistent with my discipline. I also think about the world that's going to directly affect her and how I can make sure she's set up for success. That's where sustainability stops being an idea and becomes personal.
What does a perfect world look like for Heron Preston?
Living life on your own terms. Freedom.
Do you feel like you've found your purpose through clothing?
Clothing is what I do, but it's not my purpose. Right now, my purpose is simply to be a stable, loving anchor for my daughter so she grows up feeling secure and capable. I love my family, and I love being a dad. In my work, what drives me is staying deeply curious about creativity and design.
