Previewing at ComplexCon, the creative partnership connects material-led design and racing innovation with the ambition to shape the future of motorsport fashion through sustainable design, performance and materials.
The partnership is rooted in what both achieve through reuse: Preston turns recovered materials into desirable design, while Formula E turns recovered energy into racing performance. Through eX-Ray, textile waste becomes new fabric; through regenerative braking, energy is recovered and used again. Together, they bring that thinking to the future of motorsport fashion.
eX-Ray is Heron Preston’s concept for looking at every element of a product with “X-ray vision”, from the materials and how they are made to the people and processes behind them. Rather than simply selecting existing fabrics, eX-Ray takes a more considered approach to how materials are developed and used. For the Formula E preview, this means using recycled cotton made from pre-consumer factory off-cuts and production scraps, which are sorted, shredded and re-spun into new yarn before being developed into a heavyweight, tightly woven fabric.
With the ambition to shape the future of motorsport fashion, the partnership brings a championship-wide perspective to material-led design. It pairs Preston’s expertise in transforming existing materials with Formula E’s pursuit of innovation and resource efficiency, exploring how those approaches can shape products from the outset.
The partners will offer a first look at their direction at ComplexCon Los Angeles through an exploration of eX-Ray materials, alongside a GEN4 car featuring an exclusive Preston-designed livery.
WHY HERON PRESTON AND FORMULA E
Preston’s work has consistently explored the potential of overlooked materials. His 2016 UNIFORM project upcycled decommissioned New York City Department of Sanitation uniforms and second-hand garments. More recently, he transformed Mercedes-Benz crash-test airbags into garments that retained the material’s distinctive physical qualities.
Working with manufacturers, engineers and material specialists, Preston explores how design can give existing resources renewed purpose. Formula E brings a complementary approach through racing, using the track to advance electric technology, energy efficiency and material innovation.
Together, they intend to apply that thinking to motorsport fashion, considering fit, fabrication, durability and end of life alongside the qualities that make people want to wear and keep a product.
A FIRST LOOK AT COMPLEXCON
ComplexCon brings together communities across style, sneakers, art, music and innovation, making it a natural setting to introduce the partnership to audiences beyond motorsport.
The installation will present garments as a way to explore the possibilities of eX-Ray materials, alongside Preston’s GEN4 car livery. Bringing materials, process and design together, it offers an early view of the partnership’s thinking and the possibilities the partners intend to explore.
A LONG-TERM AMBITION
ComplexCon offers a preview of a wider programme that the partners hope will span across performance, fashion, fan merchandise, accessories and products made from upcycled materials drawn from the sport. They intend to explore how Preston’s design approach and Formula E’s materials and technical knowledge can inform each category, from rethinking everyday merchandise to finding new uses for components and materials beyond their life in racing.
The GEN4 car provides a tangible example of Formula E’s approach. Designed to be 100% recyclable or reusable, with at least 20% recycled materials across key components, it demonstrates how performance and sustainability can be developed together. Formula E is also the world’s first Global B Corp Certified sport.
Heron Preston said: “This creative partnership is about rethinking what motorsport fashion can be. I’ve always been interested in taking materials, processes and ideas from unexpected places and finding new ways to give them purpose. Working with Formula E gives me the opportunity to bring that approach into a world where performance is everything. We’re looking at how apparel can be thoughtfully designed from the material up, balancing function, quality and a more considered approach to how things are made.”
Find out more
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WATCH: How to watch every Formula E race in your country
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TICKETS: Secure your grandstand seats and buy Formula E race tickets
