Dior Partners with Parley for the Oceans for a Beachwear Capsule

Last October, an international team of scientists estimated that the world's upper oceans contain 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics, adding up to as much as half a million tons of debris that poisons sea life and interferes with natural carbon-capture cycles. As of earlier this year, they have been found in human blood for the first time as well. The amount of pollution is almost unfathomable, yet it increases each day as the detritus of human life inevitably winds up discarded and dumped, often after a single use.

Since 2012, the nonprofit organization Parley for the Oceans has worked to combat this overwhelming problem. Its innovative Parley Ocean Plastic, created from upcycled plastic waste and fishing supplies collected from shorelines around the world, now comes full circle as part of the latest Beachwear Capsule collection from Dior. Created by the house's men's artistic director Kim Jones, the new designs are vibrant and vivid, in hues of burnt orange and cerulean blue with a relaxed and athletic attitude. The Ocean Plastic forms the basis of everything from cargo pants to baseball caps and knotted totes, with the upcycled materials reinvented by Dior's artisans into luxurious jacquard, mesh, and technical canvas, proving that creativity and vision can help turn trash into treasure.

With "sustainability" perhaps the most overused word in fashion today, tackling the twin issues of overproduction and overconsumption will require a systemic rethinking of the industry. As the beginning of an ongoing collaboration between the luxury house and the sustainable innovator, this capsule offers a step in the right direction, encouraging us to confront the issue of plastic pollution while offering a solution that will brighten up the beach in more ways than one.

The Dior Beachwear Capsule is available now at Dior stores worldwide and Dior.com. Read this story and many more in print by ordering CERO04 here.