FASHION | Osklen SS '12
11.8.12
Many of us are familiar with the Brazilian International Luxury Brand, OSKLEN, especially when it comes to sportswear. However, few of us really understand the intricacies of the Brand's ethos. Created & Designed by Oskar Metsavaht, a sports medicine specialist turned designer/artist/film maker/social inclusionist/environmental activist who started the brand in 1989, only to have to reinvent it in 2010 after a devastating fire.
As the president of an ethical initiative called instituto-e, his involvement in a joint initiative with the Italian Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea, called TRACES, which studies the supply chain of each of Osklen's seix e-fabrics®--organic and natural cotton, recycled cotton and PET, pirarucu (fish skin) leather eco-jute, organic silk.
Pirarucu? Oh, yes. This fish's skin is not used for consumption, and is a
pollutant when discarded, so the innovation to use its skin through
environmentally friendly techniques of tanning, can be seen as
progressive step towards ethical fashion.
These e-fabrics are a permanent project for Oskar's instituto-e, in which they are constantly searching for sustainable and eco-friendly raw materials in which to manipulate and transform into the gorgeous clothing we see today. This is strengthened through Oskar's involvement with international development projects. As a result, we look towards Oskar for messages which brings together the organic and technical, urban and nature, and global and local. Messages that puts us closer to a holistic sustainable future.
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[Images from Royal Black S/S 2012 Collection via OSKLEN]
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