Algae harvested from the ocean floor is now being utilised to make a completely new kind of drip that is specifically designed for the future.

Seaweed provides enormous promise as an alternative material given that 60% of all clothing is now produced using fossil fuels. It is one of the fastest-growing, most regenerative, naturally biodegradable organisms on the planet.

The most forward-thinking seaweed innovation is being driven by small, independent firms and creatives, while larger organisations are still playing catch-up. While the inherent sustainability of seaweed is great, can it be made into apparel that is attractive, comfortable, and long-lasting?

Tanguy Mélinand, a French fashion designer and alumnus of the Geneve University of Art and Design who received the Gold prize for sustainable design at the Yinger Prize in 2022, is one person attempting to provide a solution. Tanguy collects seaweed from the water, puts it through a special preservation process, and then uses it to create beautiful clothing.

From the coastline to the sewing machine, Tanguy used seaweed that he had personally gathered, stored, and then produced into entire clothes using complicated design techniques. “I grew up close to the ocean, In Brittany. I used to go surfing and fish. There was always loads of seaweed where I grew up, so I think my initial fascination with it started there,” Tanguy says.

Tanguy’s most recent clothing lines appear and feel comfortable and useful, unlike many other seaweed and clothing hybrids that are currently available.

The outcomes are very amazing visually: Tanguy’s sun-drenched seaweed jackets, which come in various shades of olive and yellow, maintain the bulbous, earthy aesthetic of up-and-coming UK designer Charlie Constantinou, whose jackets were nominated for the LVMH Prize.

Images By: @meliiiiii_______