Algae is an aquatic, non-flowering plant. Plant-like organisms such as seaweeds can be found in oceans, rivers, ponds and lakes all around the world, meaning that their production is not limited to one area.
Algae can be used for dyeing and in the process of textile production. Another advantage of algae is that algae is naturally fire resistant, as was recently discovered by Chinese scientists. What is interesting about algae is that they have different colours (which you can see on the colour palette), as algae have different pigments that absorb different amounts of light, which you can see in images 2 & 3. Both pictures of algae show different pigmentation, and both are in two different environments.
The fashion industry as we know it is trying to be increasingly more sustainable by using natural resources such as algae. Kanye West teamed up with Adidas since 2013, with one of his latest creations being a trainer made wholly out of algae. The Yeezy Foam Runner released in 2020 comes in many different colourways. They were first released in a beige colour scheme, which you can see in image 5. This is just the start of something new. Especially with the Foam Runners, Kanye West has used the same colour palette as algae (which is beside image 5). Algae is becoming the new Macro Trend, and with the help of Kayne and Adidas, it will become the new way to produce sustainable footwear and fashion. This is not the only time Kanye has used algae for his brand. Kanye has slowly been integrating algae into his designs, as featured in his latest Yeezy models such as the 500’s, 700 V3’s and the 350 V2’s.
The reasoning behind image 1 is an example of how algae can be multi-purpose for the fashion industry, not only to be used for footwear. but also for garments. What’s so interesting about image 1 is that Canadian-Iranian fashion designer Roya Aghighi created a jacket that turns carbon dioxide into oxygen (via photosynthesis), which is created by algae. You can see how designers are finding a way to mix both elements of fashion and science to create something which won’t affect the environment in the same way that fast fashion does. We can clearly see how the fashion industry is finding different alternatives in order to become more sustainable and to change the future of fashion. Designers such as Roya and Kanye have decided to use algae because the industry pumps millions of tonnes of Carbon into the air every year which ends up polluting the atmosphere and the water.
With image 4 what stood out is how the designers Philip Lim and Charlotte McCurdy did not only make the whole dress from bioplastic (algae), but that they also used another advantage of algae to their benefit. The colour of the dress comes from the dye from the organic material. What makes this dress so inspiring is that McCurdy used a traditional method of producing oil paint, leading to a more sustainable process of creation. As a whole, the production of this dress could provide some valuable insight into the future of high-end fashion materials.
All of the following images were chosen to show how an aquatic plant can produce numerous advantages towards a more sustainable lifestyle, which greatly contributes to the future of the fashion industry. I carefully selected these images as they reflect the different ways in which algae can reduce the detrimental impact of the fashion industry on the environment. These organisms can be used to make an immense difference in shaping fashion’s future.
