Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture SS21 - Iris van Herpen’s dress in recycled plastic by Parley for the Oceans
Iris van Herpen’s Holobiont dress from her Spring-Summer 2021 collection, unveiled on January 25, 2021, during Paris Haute Couture Week (©Myrthe Giesbers for Iris van Herpen)
The tech-savvy designer Iris van Herpen unveiled the Holobiont dress, made of Ocean Plastic, a material recycled from plastic collected at sea by the American environmental protection movement Parley for the Oceans, on the occasion of the presentation of her haute couture collection, on January 25, during Paris Fashion Week.
By Ludmilla Intravaia
In this article :
Iris van Herpen X Parley : Holobiont dress
Iris van Herpen SS21 Roots of Rebirth collection
Ocean Plastic by Parley for the Oceans
Adidas X Parley : Ultraboost DNA Parley and Primeblue
Parley for the Oceans AIR pledge
“We’re honored to be included in this collection and to collaborate on the Material Revolution it so beautifully represents.” It was in these enthusiastic terms that Parley for the Oceans commented at the end of January on the Instagram post of the Dutch designer Iris van Herpen, featuring the Holobiont dress.
Iris van Herpen X Parley
A very special dress because it is made with a material that is the flagship of the necessary “material revolution” mentioned in its Instagram comment by Parley for the Oceans : Ocean Plastic, a plastic recycled from the debris collected at sea by this American environemental movement for the protection of the ocean. A somptuous creation by Iris van Herpen who demonstrates that a recycled plastic yarn has all its place in a haute couture collection, as shown in the photos of the presentation below (© Iris van Herpen).
The fabric of the dress was first printed, before being laser cut into fine triangular tessellations that were paved in a mosaic “initiating a fragile symbiosis with the skin through seamless gradients in translucency”, describes the collection press release.
Below, check out the 21 silhouettes of Iris van Herpen's presentation, inspired by roots and spores, including the Holobiont dress from this SS21 Roots of Rebirth haute couture collection, exploring, as the press release from the Dutch designer states "a symbiosis of high technology and the artisanal craftsmanship of couture, through a collection that references the intricacy of fungi and the entanglement of life that breathes beneath our feet”.
What is Parley ?
Parley for the Oceans is an environmental movement for the protection of the oceans created in 2012 by the designer Cyrill Gutsch, an organization which, among other actions, collects marine plastic debris on the shores and in the oceans to shred it, rework it into yarn and, thus, recycle them into its trademarked plastic material called Ocean Plastic.
© Parley for the Oceans
Adidas X Parley
Among the brands that collaborate with Parley for the Oceans, Adidas has been its partner since 2015. The German sports brand has designed Primeblue, a high-performance recycled material containing Parley Ocean Plastic, used, for example, in the Primeblue SST track jacket below.
© Adidas
The Ultraboost DNA Parley shoe, the prototype of which was presented in 2015 before the United Nations, is also the result of this Adidas X Parley for the Oceans collaboration.
© Adidas
The plastic disaster
Each year, eight million tons of plastic waste ends up in the oceans, where a part of it, photodegraded by sunlight into small plastic particles, is mistaken by birds, turtles, whales, fish, etc. for food.
The ingested debris damage the internal organs of these sentient beings who, likewise, falling into the nets of plastic waste, perish, imprisoned, suffocated, in their natural environment.
© Parley for the Oceans
“If the oceans die, we die”
Listen to Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an NPO for the protection of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, telling us more about the philosophy of Parley for the Oceans in the video below.
Parley's AIR strategy
On its website, Parley for the Oceans invites to get involved in the A.I.R. pledge, the acronym for :
A (Avoid) : avoid using plastic, wherever possible;
I (Intercept) : intercept plastic waste;
R (Redesign) : redesign the material itself.
The AIR strategy aims “to end the fast-growing threat of marine plastic pollution”, can one read on parley.tv which explains : “We believe plastic is a design failure, one that can only be solved by reinventing the material itself. To create change, we can stop producing more plastic right away and use up-cycled marine plastic waste instead. Everyone has a role to play.”
* More info on Iris van Herpen website. Parley for the Oceans website is there. Sea Shepherd website is there. Parley on Adidas website.
* The Paris Haute Couture Week Spring - Summer 2021 took place from January 25 to 28, 2021. Its online platform can be accessed here.
* Continue reading on Le Boudoir Numérique:
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- Paris Haute Couture Week SS21 – Kinetic crowns by Iris van Herpen
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