Just in case being a genius singer-song writer, talented rapper, savvy entrepreneur, successful music producer and winner of seven Grammies isn’t cool enough, Pharrell Williams has now also launched a range of clothes made from recycled ocean plastic.
The ‘Happy’ singer curated and co-designed the ‘RAW for the Oceans‘ collection, a range of clothes made from fabric containing 10 of the 700 million tonnes of plastic floating in our seas.
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Pharrell calls this fabric ‘denim’s next generation’: it’s the first time ‘Bionic’ yarn spun from waste plastic has been used to make denim.
The plastic is harvested from the ocean, broken into chips and then shredded into fibres, which are then spun with cotton to make Bionic yarn — which is up to 400% stronger than conventional yarn.
This yarn is then woven or knitted into the fabric of RAW for the Oceans clothing. The result is a soft and strong specialist fabric that feels and ages just like traditional denim, with a built-in answer to ocean pollution.
‘Y’know, our planet is sick. We people are the bloodline and there are some blockages with all the crazy things going on in the world. The second reason is that so many amazing things have happened to me. I’ve had some really generous and blessed harvesting. The least I can do is get to our global community and give back to the earth.’
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams teamed up with the Amsterdam-based G-Star Raw to launch the line. The company has recently been looking at new ways to reduce the environmental impact of its clothes production.
As Bionic Yarn’s creative director, Pharrell Williams will serve as the collection’s co-designer. The partnership will also result in G-Star integrating Bionic yarn into its existing product lines.
‘By integrating Bionic Yarn into our collection we’re taking the next step in creating denim for the future. We’re very excited about the long-term goals of this collaboration and to have Bionic as our business partner’.
Thecla Schaeffer, G-Star’s creative marketing officer
The result is a collection that’s fun but also very cool; a cartoon squid features pretty heavily in the designs but is sometimes so small he’s unnoticeable.
The men’s and women’s collections launched on 6 September and are available online through G-Star RAW. There are jeans (£130-40), hoodies (£90), bomber jackets (£220), trench coats (£230), caps (£35) and T-shirts (£45).
Have a look at the RAW for the Oceans website for more information on the project. To browse the collection online, visit G-Star RAW.
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