During a recent presentation of his collection, Heron Preston opened his show with a documentary titled “Above the Clouds.” The film, directed by Preston and David Laven, documented the creation of his third collection for men and women while simultaneously celebrating NASA, took more than six months to produce and projected the vision of the designer’s looks 32 miles up into the earth’s stratosphere. The looks were amazing, and out of this world.
Dropping a 31-piece collection for fall/winter 2018, Preston incorporated NASA’s authentic 1976 logo, consisting of the word NASA in a unique logo type nicknamed the “Worm.” Inspired by the outer layer of NASA’s spacesuits, Preston interpreted the iconic uniform in the form of a nylon space jacket, a silver denim logo jacket and a multi-functional convertible backpack that converts into a fanny pack or tote bag. The collection is branded with fall/winter 1990, as an homage to the Worm.
Preston first introduced the idea of the NASA-themed collection in December 2013 in The New York Times Style Section. On Oct. 1, 2018, NASA celebrates its 60th anniversary, which coincides with Preston’s fall/winter ’18 collection. These clothes are sold through the designer’s online store (heronpreston.com). The collection is also available at Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman and other stores around the world.
Descendant of Thieves, cofounded by Matteo Maniatty and Dres Ladro in 2009, is a brand, built on aesthetics, that challenges the status quo. They remain devoted to a limited batch of manufacturing. Their philosophy is designing from the inside-out.
This brand is also rooted in both independence and individualism. Ladro’s interest in design can be traced back to his childhood when he would steal clothing from his father’s closet. He would de-seam and re-engineer the entire garment to create a look that was unlike others. His experimental details included finished interiors, discreet pockets and hidden messages. These well-tailored touches became embedded into the brand’s designs. When Ladro’s father discovered his son’s mischief he lashed out and called him “thief” in Italian. The vilified nickname stuck.
Creative director Maniatty related his experience in merchandising, strategy and sales. He gained his experience while working at Bloomingdales, Gene Meyer, Original Penguin and Gant Rugger.