Kenzo, Tiger Beer + World Wildlife Fund’s Capsule Collection
Four artists design bold limited edition garments for the Rare Stripes charitable collaboration
The global wild tiger population has dropped to a staggeringly small 3,890. It will continue to diminish without the aid of preservation organizations—and those who can offer their support to these non-profits. With that in mind, iconic fashion brand Kenzo (known for their emblematic tiger) has joined forces with pioneering Singaporean beverage company Tiger Beer on a quest to aid the World Wildlife Fund. The mission of Rare Stripes, their limited edition clothing collection, is to raise awareness of the tiger crisis. And each piece within is inspired by the life stories of eight individual tigers from the wild. Tiger Beer champions artist involvement in their work with the WWF and this latest initiative is no different.
Four artists contributed to the collection, each representing a different nation and its involvement. From Cambodia, illustrator and printmaker Julienne Tan; illustrator and designer Esther Goh represented Singapore; Malaysian visual and digital artist Sean Lean; and contemporary artist and sculptor Meryl Smith participated on behalf of USA. The artists—selected by Tiger Beer—ideated apparel designs with Kenzo’s Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, and all six traveled to Cambodia to learn from WWF first-hand. Michael Baltzer, leader of WWF Tigers Alive initiative, says, “Brands have the power to give back to this majestic animal.” While designing a collection is a start, the design team’s immersion into the world itself might just have a broad impact.
The collection has been crafted from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) compliant organic cotton. Further, 100% of the proceeds from the sale will go to the WWF in support of doubling the world’s wild tiger population by 2022 (the next year of the tiger). There are only 500 pieces in the collection total, which will be available 21 July at 3PM with select pieces in-store globally during August. Each piece comes with a QR code on the clothing tag. Once scanned, it will tell the story of the tiger that inspired it, and additional information on the struggles all tigers face today.
Images courtesy of Kenzo
