Exclusive: Heron Preston Buys Back Brand From New Guards Group

Heron Preston is the latest brand to leave the New Guards Group.

The designer behind the eponymous label announced Wednesday that he had reacquired full and exclusive rights over the trademarks attached to his name from the Farfetch-owned holding company. It joins a growing list of brands that New Guards has recently shed from its portfolio, including Ambush, Palm Angels and Off-White.

“I went through hell to protect what I built. I fought for my name, my work and my vision. Now I’m back with more purpose than ever,” Preston told The Business of Fashion.

Heron Preston launched his namesake label under the New Guards Group in 2017 and was part of an impactful class of designers who shaped streetwear culture and young menswear in the late-2010s. He was a member of the influential Been Trill collective that included Matthew M. Williams, the late Virgil Abloh and Justin Saunders.

In 2019, Farfetch acquired the New Guards Group, intending to use it as a platform to launch and scale its own brands. The company ran into difficulties, however, as its business sprawled and investors worried it had lost focus. In 2023, on the brink of bankruptcy, it sold to South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang.

While Preston declined to disclose the terms of the agreement to reacquire his brand, he shared that he was “walking away from a very difficult business relationship” and is looking forward to designing with more freedom. The brand’s last seasonal collection was its Fall-Winter 2023 showing at New York Fashion Week in 2023. Preston said he hopes to re-launch the label, which has relocated from Milan to Brooklyn, in October.

“I’m giving myself time and space to really think and breathe and find joy in the process. These are things that I wasn’t able to really do in the past,” said Preston.

The designer also shared that he ended his partnership with H&M, which previously tapped Preston to serve as its creative menswear advisor in 2023. After launching two collections with the fast-fashion label last year, Preston said he’s pausing collaborations to focus solely on his own brand, which also includes his new sustainability-focused design practice L.E.D. Studio.

“I don’t need to ask for approval from my partners so this is a whole new world for me,” said Preston.