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COLLABORATION DESCRIPTION TEXT
Gentle Monster and Heron Preston are thrilled to announce the launch of their first collaboration.
The new collection, inspired by the bold workwear design at the core of Preston’s vision, incorporates the brand’s signature ‘spirit level’ element into eyewear.
Heron Preston, founder and creative director of his namesake brand, was first drawn to this partnership thanks to Gentle Monster’s deep understanding of how to
connect and juxtapose culture and art in authentic yet relatable ways.
This collection features three sunglasses in different color variations and a limited edition, custom designed case. The collaboration eyewear will be released on July 29th worldwide and available at Gentle Monster and Heron Preston’s on and offline stores and global select shops.
Additionally, a special offline event will launch in late July to celebrate this joint effort. Tune in to further details on Gentle Monster and Heron Preston’s social media channels.
ABOUT GENTLE MONSTER
South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster was established in 2011 based on the philosophy of high-end experimentation. Focusing on product, space, styling, campaign, and service, Gentle Monster aims to offer a radically new and innovative point of view for design. These principles are addressed in not only the design of their sunglasses but also in the design of their retail spaces and creative projects. Their refusal to be recognized as simply an eyewear brand is spoken in every frame, project, and store.
The rapid growth in Gentle Monster’s popularity has led the brand to be regarded as a major creative force. Each pair of sunglasses embodies a duality of being. Seeking to satisfy this duality found in every person and everything, Gentle Monster attempts to uncover a place in between playfulness and elegance, delicacy, and destruction, past, and future.
ABOUT HERON PRESTON
Heron Preston is a fashion designer whose eponymous label features workwear-redefined separates and accessories for both women and men. As a designer, DJ, consultant, art director, and collaborator, his work is deeply inspired by sustainability and technology. As a result, his work inherently speaks to the next wave of culture, innovation, environmental responsibility and human impact.
HASHTAGS:
On and off the runway, Preston’s mission to identify and integrate less environmentally destructive practices permeate throughout all of his work, including his high-end workwear collection and the experimental work he’s done with brands such as HP Inc.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Preston received a B.B.A. in design and management from Parsons School of Design in New York City in 2008. From that point, Preston would work for both Nike and Kanye West before founding his own label in 2016. Preston’s nascent brand signatures were soon defined: the frequent use of a carrot orange hue, the Cyrillic word for “style”, interpretations of herons as avian prints, and further collaborations including link- ups with Carhartt, Virgil Abloh’s Off-WhiteTM, Nike, NYC Department of Sanitation and NASA.
Preston has received a number of high-profile accolades in his impressive ascent: he is on both the Business of Fashion’s BoF 500 and Hypebeast 100 lists. He is also a 2019 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Emerging Designer of the Year nominee. Preston lives between New York City and Milan, and shows his collections during Paris Fashion Week.
QUOTE FROM HERON PRESTON
“The level was first introduced in the collections as a heel on our women’s boot. Given the success and excitement around that idea we challenged ourselves to think of other ways the level could be applied across different product categories. The shape and construction of sunglasses is the perfect platform for this idea. The horizontal line that creates the temple on the side of the glasses directly relates to the line of a level. It was the perfect fit.”
“I decided to collaborate with Gentle Monster because they always have supported big ideas and ambitious thinking. They understand how to connect through culture & arts in the most authentic ways and so working with them made me feel confident that they would be able to carry out my vision.”
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
Level 0 01
Crafted in collaboration with Heron Preston, Level 0 01 is a rectangular silhouetted acetate frame with 100% UV protected black lenses. The solid, wide sunglasses are accentuated by the bold edges and level details on each temple, combining both brands’ identities into one design.
Level 0 C1
Crafted in collaboration with Heron Preston, Level 0 C1 is a rectangular silhouetted acetate frame with 100% UV protected clear lenses. The solid, wide sunglasses are accentuated by the bold edges and level details on each temple, combining both brands’ identities into one design.
Level 0 NY1
Crafted in collaboration with Heron Preston, Level 0 NY1 is a rectangular silhouetted acetate frame featuring a navy gradient front and 100% UV protected navy lenses. The solid, wide sunglasses are accentuated by the bold edges and level details on each temple, combining both brands’ identities into one design.
ABOUT THE PACKAGE
Heron Preston x Gentle Monster collaboration package features a soft eyewear pouch in a hard case that unfolds into a spirit level.
