Earlier this month, Brooklyn-based creative director and fashion designer Heron Preston offered no warning before casually making a major announcement on Instagram. On April 6, he revealed he has been “secretly working with Calvin Klein” for a year as a creative partner. Now (Friday, April 23, to be exact), the highly-anticipated spring 2021 collection is here, and it’s called Heron Preston for Calvin Klein. The 100-piece lineup is comprised of timeless, sustainably-made apparel essentials, including everything from socks and underwear to denim and T-shirts.
The collection includes gender-neutral styles meant to inspire shoppers to choose self-expression over gender. “I just wanted to find a universal language that speaks to a global audience,” Preston says in a statement provided to GRAZIA USA. “One that doesn’t alienate but rather invites you in this world of simplicity, removing complexity and allowing you to discover your style through the comfort and support of the garments.” Whether that means solely wearing underwear on the weekends or a sports bra as a going-out top, the choice is yours.
Preston’s functional workwear elements take the Calvin Klein collection to the next level. Garments are finished with raised ribbed stitching, and the artist’s signature shade of orange make their way into the silhouettes in the form of thin strips. “I really wanted to design pieces that would catch your friend off guard in conversation because they would notice details,” Preston tells WWD. “I wanted to make a distinction between wearing clothes and then living in them,” he said. “This is a collection that I really wanted people to live in.”
Designing the collection’s T-shirts was a laborious task—perhaps the most intense of all silhouettes. “When you come from streetwear and skateboarding, with my background, the T-shirt is something you start designing first and is what you’ve got to do best,” Preston says in a statement. “It’s like social currency for us.” The result doesn’t disappoint. Soon to be a customer favorite, the boxy-fit T-shirt is made from 100 percent heavyweight organic cotton, featuring gusset detailing under the armpits. There’s also a lightweight version available to purchase as part of a pack.
And we can’t talk about the collection without talking about the campaign, photographed by Renell Medrano and filmed by Rubberband. It features an epic, star-studded lineup, as seen in this article’s accompanying photographs: Kaia Gerber, Ashley Graham, Jordan Alexander, Lil Uzi, Renell Medrano, Stevie Williams, Sabrina Fuentes, and Nas. Preston and girlfriend Sabrina Albarello even make an appearance.
As the brand puts it, both the photographs and film represent the “lived experience” of the clothing. In other words, it celebrates natural moments spent wearing your favorite Calvin Klein pieces, like brushing your teeth in your underwear à la Kaia Gerber or lounging around the house on a weekend morning with a cup of coffee like Jordan Alexander). Experience the one-and-a-half minute Heron Preston for Calvin Klein film below.
