H&M has entered a long-term partnership with designer Heron Preston to launch a new collaborative platform called H2, H&M announced in a press release shared with Fashion Dive Wednesday.
The H2 launch will feature special collections and include an advisory platform for H&M design teams, in addition to offering discovery and mentorship programs for “young creative talent” and “circular innovation programs” designed to close the fashion loop, according to the release.
“Together, these four pillars will represent an experience where new approaches to product, people and process play equal roles in bringing H&M and Heron Preston’s shared values to life,” the release stated.
Preston, who is the co-founder of men’s streetwear brand Been Trill, as well as his eponymous label, will focus on menswear for the Swedish fast fashion company, and he’ll collaborate with H&M’s creative teams “through interactive seminars,” according to the release.
“Heron Preston is a creative force in the industry, and has distinguished himself as a multifaceted artist with a unique point of view and strong story to tell,” Daniel Herrmann, head of menswear at H&M, said in the release. “H2 was born from a like-minded vision between H&M and Heron, about the future of fashion but also how we must collaborate in new ways to achieve new goals. We are excited to show the world what we can build together.”
H2 will also offer a program that will allow early-stage career and self-taught creatives to “co-create” with Preston’s mentorship and H&M’s resources.
“I always say, the face of fashion is all of us,” Preston said in the release. “H&M speaks to so many different types of people around the globe and is a brand for everyone. I love to push the boundaries of what’s possible and felt like they were really interested in doing that with me. I admire a company as big as H&M that wants to take risks together because our shared belief is that real change must ultimately happen at a scale that touches ‘everyone.’”
The platform will also offer a space to launch experimental projects to promote circularity in fashion. It is expected to debut in 2024, according to Business of Fashion.
