Generally speaking, a car airbag isn’t something you’d want to see. Emerging - at lightning speed - to look after you in case of an accident. American designer Heron Preston had other ideas and the images you see here are the result. Idea is to use some of the waste materials from airbags not deemed to be up to exacting safety standards, and turn them into a range of inflatable clothing. You’ll never know when you might fall over, after all.
Heron Preston has form with these recycled fashion pieces. His first collection debuted in 2016 in conjunction with the Sanitation Department of New York City, no less. Preston, who trained at Greenwich Village's Parsons Art and Design school, said each piece was zero waste, unusual at the time. Later he worked with the American space agency NASA on a collection inspired by astronauts’ pressure suits. Which should raise an eyebrow or two when you’re on the football terraces.
With Mercedes Heron Preston decided that he and his design team wouldn’t just use redundant airbag fabric, they would come up with outfits that would show off the technology too. Central notion was to mark the 40th anniversary of the airbag, first introduced in mass production on the high end Mercedes S-Class series in the 1980s, now of course central to safety on all cars sold today. This clothing range takes the airbag out of hiding.
“I really challenged my team,” Preston told ‘Vogue’ magazine, “to figure out how we could inflate the clothes and puff up and deflate the jackets on demand.” The jackets concerned are bomber jackets that now inflate, according to your requirements. Your look could change into something a little more bulky in moments.
Capsule collection is, says the designer, 98% recycled airbags. Along with the inflatable bomber jackets, non-inflatable items included cargo trousers and a tote bag. Airbag fabric was left unadorned to show off and celebrate these life-saving devices, perhaps to make all of us think again about these hidden safety features and just how meticulous is their manufacture.
There’s a certain form follows function authentic chic about Heron Preston’s collection. Others have followed suit: such as Denmark’s The Upcycl which has produced airbag fabric cushions, and South Korea’s Kanghyuk who’ve integrated airbag fabric into skiwear. Airbag fabric really is that versatile, it turns out. According to Heron Preston: “As a material, the air bag is very durable and it has some weight to it. Honestly it reminded me of the workwear materials I had been incorporating into my collections."
Heron Preston runs an eponymous fashion label these days. And we regret to have to tell you that his airbag pieces were made available in a limited edition auction - and that they’re now sold out. More air bags available at a scrap yard near you? Get the sewing machine out, or give Mr Preston a call. You never know, another collaboration might be the result.
Next up: The best Mercedes-Benz cars of all time.
