Heron Preston and Formula E link up for recycled racewear
American designer Heron Preston will make race-inspired clothing with Formula E, the all-electric single-seater racing series, under a long-term creative partnership centred on material innovation and sustainability.
The partnership was detailed by WWD on 28 September. It covers motorsport apparel and research into new fabrics.
Its first public outing is ComplexCon, the streetwear and pop culture festival in Los Angeles. Preston and Formula E will show there together.
The star pieces are a preview capsule, a small limited range, of T-shirts, long-sleeves and hoodies. They are made with fabrics from Preston's eX-Ray concept. That means recycled cotton spun from pre-consumer factory offcuts and production scraps, plus deadstock fabric, leftover material from past collections.
The car is hard to miss. Alongside the clothes, the debut includes a GEN4 Formula E car with an exterior design by Preston. GEN4 is the next generation of Formula E race car.
Preston has finished it in his signature orange with chrome and matte details. Text-based graphics run across the bodywork, including 'Zero Rare Earth Minerals' and '600kW Max Power'.
The base car brings serious numbers. It produces 600 kW (816 PS), uses permanent all-wheel drive, and has new tyres and significantly increased downforce, according to Porsche, the German sports-car maker which races in the series. Formula E says the GEN4 design is intended to be 100% recyclable or reusable, as reported by Formula E.
The longer plan goes further into the scrapyard. Preston and Formula E want to explore materials recovered from racing itself, such as carbon fibre, metals and other car components. That work had not yet started at the time of the announcement.
Pricing, production scale and distribution for a wider Heron Preston x Formula E collection were still being explored. For now, ComplexCon is a preview, not a shop launch.
What makes this stand out is the direction of travel. Instead of printing logos on standard sportswear, the project starts with factory waste and ends, if the research works, with old race cars feeding new clothes.
