Pharrell Williams is talented. Not only can the artist craft a can't-stop-til-it-drops tune, the style enthusiast has many an eco-bone in his creative body.
Not many music fans would be aware that Williams co-founded Bionic Yarn - one of the world's first high-performance ecotextile makers; successfully blending plastic fibers with natural ones such as cotton.
Williams launched into Bionic Yarn with environmental free-thinkers, Parley, and the two have developed have worked together to create a recycled-plastic, cotton yarn that is more durable and versatile than common denim.
In the latest turn of event, Pharrell’s creative mind has lent itself to Raw for the Oceans - a fashion collection project where Williams has co-designed a men's and women's wear line with G-Star.
The Raw For The Oceans website explains the process:
1. Plastic pollution is first retrieved from the ocean, whose volume is in the millions of tonnes.
2. The retrieved ocean plastic is broken down into chips and then shredded to fibers, ready to be spun into yarn.
3. Ocean plastic fibers are spun into strong core yarn and then helixed with cotton, making Bionic yarn.
4. The innovation is complete with the weaving or knitting of Bionic yarn into RAW for the Oceans fabrics.
The beauty of the collaboration lies in the utitlization of a environmentally destructive commodity - plastic - and turning it into a prosperous yarn component. It's essentially a series of wearable everyday garments from the plastic washing up on America's shorelines; waste which also gets consume by sea-life and leads to a horrible death.
The Fall Winter 2015 collection - the third in the series - embodies key fashion items for a casual, chic look.
According to a HighSnobiety article, the unisex Occotis HDD Bomber started out merely as a sketch of a face-covering hooded jacket from Williams, who envision it be made from Bionic yarn. However, G-Star like it so much, the label joined with their archive team and drew together designs, silhouettes and staples from the world of military garments. \
And the denim is where the innovation lies. It's here that the world’s first denim fibers from ocean-recycled plastic is weaved into a series of both distressed and clean jeans and jackets for men and women, alongside tees with the symbolic octopus logo plonked on the front.
As more big name brands and celebrities stand up for the environment, not just ethically-produced or sustainably produced fashion, the 'normal' way of making garments is set to slowly change.
There are limits to upcycling, however, due to certain elements like garment softness and aesthetic, and the overall function in a piece of clothing - but as upcycling becomes more tried and tested, the process can only improve - and grow in popularity.