MAGNUM COMMISSIONS FIRST COUTURE DRESS MADE FROM COCOA BEAN HUSKS

Haute chocolate hit the runway at this year’s Paris Fashion Week as ice cream  brand Magnum debuted the first couture gown to be made from sustainable cocoa  bean husks with designer Iris Van Herpen.

Inspired by Magnum’s vegan ice cream bar, the cocoa bean husks were used to  create an organic biopolymer material. The cocoa creation was then used in a 3D  printing process to create geometric designs that paired with a flowing, vegan  in a wearable homage to the consistency of a frozen then melting Magnum bar.

“The main challenge has been to create the intricacy of couture into the 3D  printing,” says Van Herpen in a behind-the-scenes documentary on the dress’s  creation, “to be very precise, crystalline work and to be as fine as traditional  embroidery.”

Van Herpen later adds that the project “has really been about showing a  future perspective on couture and how this can become more organic and  sustainable.”

The Magnum Vegan Dress hit the runway in early July, modeled by Cindy Bruna  at Paris’s Elysée Montmartre in Van Herpen’s 15th-anniversary fashion show. The  campaign is a collaboration between Van Herpen’s in-house production team as  well as agency Lola MullenLowe and encompasses photography, behind-the-scenes  content and influencer partnerships.

“For Magnum this isn’t just about a one hit wonder PR stunt—the ambition is  to develop a truly circular textile which uses the cocoa bean husks to create  mass produced fabrics,” said Katie-Jo Flynn, executive director for the  campaign’s PR partner Golin. “The Magnum x Iris vegan Dress is just the first  step in that direction and our partnership with Leeds University will continue  our commitment in this area.”

In an extension of the sustainability-focused campaign, Magnum will partner  with the University of Leeds’ Institute of Textiles and Colour within its School  of Design to fund research on the creation of more vegan and naturally sourced  materials to be used for fashion design. Materials from the brand describe this  campaign as an emblem of Magnum’s commitment to “partnering with and championing  inspiring creative disruptors that break down barriers across fashion, art and  culture in the pursuit of being true to themselves and encouraging others to do  the same.”Read more at:blue green  formal dress (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) | robes de  soirée (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)