Gabriela Hearst Pre-Fall 2020
“Pre-fall is always one of the most sustainable collections that we do, because we work from sketches and swatches. We don’t even develop one sample, because we have plenty of preexisting materials. The problem that it brings is that when we don’t have the samples we aren’t able to create content and stories around the pieces. Through the pandemic, we were trying to think of the best way to illustrate these beautiful garments. Bailey from the team is a former ballet dancer and came up with the idea of celebrating some of our favorite New York ballerinas. He movement directed the shoot and Pascal Perich who is a friend of ours was the photographer. It quickly became a very close knit and big hearted endeavor. I feel that dance is one those beautiful art forms that you can see the force of creation being communicated by the human body. It did elevate every single garment of the collection, seeing it on these incredible talents. We always use a quote that is so close to us “to move freely you must be deeply rooted” Bella Lewitzky “ - Gabriela
Gabriela Hearst doesn’t want to fill your feed with more of the same-same lo-fi quarantine content. Instead, she’s sharing breathtaking images of American Ballet Theatre’s Christine Shevchenko and Fangqi Li, and New York City Ballet’s Unity Phelan, India Bradley, and Olivia Boisson performing arabesques and penchés in breezy aloe linen dresses, crisp windowpane wool suiting, and hand-knit cashmere sweaters from her pre-fall collection, which arrives in her New York and London stores today. The results are transformative and transporting: Looking at the images is for a moment to feel like you’re back watching the curtain rise at Lincoln Center. “I feel that dance is one those beautiful art forms that you can see the force of creation being communicated by the human body,” Hearst says.
