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G-Star RAW

RAW for the Oceans Jacket

Now On View

Maker

G-Star RAW (Amsterdam), design label
Pharrell Williams (American, b. 1973), design curator
Bionic, yarn manufacturer

Title

RAW for the Oceans Jacket

Year

2017

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

Center back length: 83.8 cm (33 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

[inside collar] "Raw / For the Oceans / A collection made with yarn from / recycled ocean plastic. A collaboration / between G-Star RAW / and Bionic Yarn. / Curated by Pharrell Williams / G-Star RAW / Bionic / made with Bionic Yarn / [size] L / Made in China
[separate paper tag] "Style: Occotis Embroidered kimono / Fabric: RFTD LT WT OIA Denim"
[label on outside back] "G-Star Originals RAW Denim"

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum purchase, by exchange

Object Number

2018.40

Type

Costume

Publications

Journal

Manual / Issue 15: Green

RISD Museum’s Manual 15 Celebrates Green

New life is always shown to us through mokingpu, the color green-the light green stems of rabbitbrush, one of the few colors seen the winter; the tender green shoots of new corn that emerge in the spring against the backdrop of the dry brown earth. Green offers hope. Green represents life.

-Susan Sekaquaptewa

A welcome splash of color after a long winter, the RISD Museum’s fifteenth issue of Manual is awash in shades of green, celebrating the color's myriad associations with nature and growth, environmentalism and sustainable practices, newness and hope (as well as poison and currency) and delving into the histories of specific pigments and processes. Manual 15 opens with an introductory essay by Hopi grower Susan Sekaquaptewa, who details the soft hues of the flora of Northern Arizona. “You appreciate plants more when you develop a relationship with them,” she explains.

This issue of Manual is supported in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional generous support is provided by the RISD Museum Associates and Sotheby’s.

Exhibition History

Repair and Design Futures

Oct 05, 2018 – Jun 30, 2019

Label copy

The Japanese mendicant monk’s robe aided its wearer, who would have been ritually mute, in communicating his role as he begged for basic earthly requirements and gave blessings in return. Patches and darns add to his message, just as they reinforce the secular Japanese work coat. An example of boro (ragged)-utilitarian items often made of valued indigo-dyed cotton-it shows both heavy wear and a loving hand that patched or added sashiko stitching to create a regenerated, strengthened whole. Though brand new, the G-Star RAW for the Oceans coat was made for similar longevity while also embedding meaning and care in its fabrication using Bionic, a yarn made from recycled plastic recovered from ocean and coastal environments. [See also 2016.96.3, 2012.21.1].

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

G-Star RAW (Amsterdam), design label
Pharrell Williams (American, b. 1973), design curator
Bionic, yarn manufacturer

RAW for the Oceans Jacket, 2017

Bionic Yarn (recycled ocean plastic and cotton) twill weave, indigo dyed and machine embroidered

Center back length: 83.8 cm (33 inches)

Museum purchase, by exchange 2018.40

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