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G-Star RAW and Designer Maarten Baas Touch Down at Milan Design Week “More or Less”

G-Star RAW and Designer Maarten Baas Touch Down at Milan Design Week “More or Less”

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Highly anticipated exhibition explores the crossroads of sustainability and our need for consumption

Denim streetwear brand turned design innovator, G-Star RAW, has teamed up with the coveted Dutch designer Maarten Baas, for an installation entitled ‘More or Less’ during Milan Design Week starting this week.  The exhibition is set within the historic 17th-century church of San Paolo Converso and explores one of today’s fundamental issues – the desire for more and the need for less – through the creation of wondrous artifacts made entirely of denim waste.  The exhibition, taking place from April 18 to 23, will showcase a collection of cabinets in the shape of jeans, and a fifteen-meter-long private jet incredibly placed inside the church.

“Every year in Milan I witness the tragicomic dialogue between green design and mass consumption,” says Baas. “When G-Star approached me to collaborate, it was the perfect opportunity to focus on this relevant dilemma. After all, we are all part of the same puzzle: we enjoy our prosecco next to this private jet made from recycled materials. We are not saving the world, but are we contributing to an improvement? More or less…”

G-Star approached the designer, who has also worked with brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Hermès, to create a series of installations from a new textile board material derived from recycled denim.

Also included in the exhibit is a collection of cabinets made from denim that resemble a pair of jeans.  All the cabinets are made of textile board material created from recycled G-Star jeans, developed by the Danish textile firm Really / Kvadrat. The jeans were collected from G-Star stores across Europe through the ‘Return your Denim’ program which allows customers to return their old jeans for recycling. During the exhibition, visitors can also bring their worn garments to screenprint with the signature message ‘More or Less.’

“At G-Star, we believe that there is no limit to what denim can do,” says Gwenda van Vliet, CMO of G-Star RAW. “In this case, we’re spotlighting what our denim waste can become, and how we can change waste material into something meaningful that stands out – and that makes you wonder and think. Because we all want more, but our planet needs less.”

While designing the initial idea of the cabinets earlier this year, Baas came up with the creation of a life-sized fifteen-meter-long jet that would also be built using waste denim.

‘More or Less’ is open to the public from April 18 to 23 at the Chiesa San Paolo Converso, Piazza Sant’Eufemia 1 in Milan. The entrance is free. The cabinets, which are available to purchase, are made to order with price and delivery time available on request. The Denim Waste Plane will become part of the G-Star RAW art collection.