this dress has been crafted using algae-based sequins & carbon-neutral fabric

creative director and co-founder of his eponymous label phillip lim has collaborated with charlotte mccurdy, a scientist known for making carbon-neutral, algae plastic from completely organic materials in the oceans, to create an algae sequin dress that promotes scientific innovation and scaling of alternative materials. the project is part of one X one initiative which addresses fashion’s biggest issues — climate change, environmental degradation and social impact.

images courtesy of one X one

‘the key to this experiment is to take it out of a museum context and put it in real life,’ says phillip lim. ‘so we thought about: how do we push it into making sequins? sequins are synonymous with plastic waste.’

charlotte mccurdy has been researching bio-plastic from algae as part of her involvement in the new museum’s cultural incubator, NEW INC. algae is one of the most efficient organisms on earth at transforming solar energy to stored chemical potential energy — in other words, the best at sequestering carbon.

‘I come from thinking about formal sustainability strategy, but then I realized that the real gap and the real challenge we had was in creating visions of workable, livable futures, so that we could have a collective vision we could pull towards as a society,’ said mcdurdy. ‘that’s really creative work.’

aware of the negative effects of conventional textiles, lim and mccurdy began a journey to use carbon-neutral materials re reimagine a new, conscious luxury. ‘we were inspired by shades of green and how photosynthesis happens, how light reflects and refracts,’ concluded lim. ‘we imagined this whole ecosystem of marine life, from fishing nets, as the fabric which the sequins would go on, to pearls and crystals inspired by oysters, deconstructing and reconstructing this ecosystem.’

project info:

name: algae sequin dress

design: phillip lim and charlotte mccurdy

part of: one X one