Since its invention in the late 1800s, plastic has become ubiquitous in our lives – in our homes, streets, oceans, and clothing. In fact, plastic-based fabrics make up more than 60% of what we wear.
On 16 February, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and The Good Machine hosted One Blue Heart, a blue-carpet, zero-waste gala dinner held at the One&Only at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. The event aimed to create awareness and raise money for a new Turtle Conservation Centre. Currently the Two Oceans Aquarium’s runs a rescue, rehabilitation, and release programme for endangered sea turtles. Many of these turtles come to the conservation centre because they have ingested ocean plastic pollution.
Holding up a mirror to the wasteful consumerist habits that result in ocean pollution, the gala prompted guests to reflect on what they eat, what they waste, and what they wear. With 130 guests in attendance, the room was reminiscent of an onshore seascape of guests, many wearing ocean-friendly fashion stitched with meaning.
Singer and musician Zolani Mahola wears MimShac Couture and Wandiswa Jonga, a teacher at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, wears Helon Melon
Highlights included Twyg 2022 Changemaker Award winner, Cleo Droomer, who created a dress for Aaniyah Martin, founder of The Beach Co-op. As a zero-waste story-tailor, Cleo artfully combined pieces of ancestral fabrics belonging to his grandmother and Aaniyah’s grandmother to create an evening gown that balanced glamour with the deeper acknowledgement of clothing as a wearable archive.
Aaniyah says, “If you think of the turtle itself, it is an ancient being. This dress is a reminder that we need to carry our history with us, but also heal and bring joy. Remembering who we are and where we come from is important in building a community that cares.” Other participating slow fashion designers included VIVIERS Studio, The Bam Collective, Imprint Za and Nicola West of W35T.
Aaniyah Martin, founder of The Beach Co-op, in custom-made DROOMER
Many of the Two Oceans Aquarium staff wore rented dresses from Style Rotate. Guests re-wore their well-loved garments, including filmmaker, Pippa Ehrlich who wore the dress in which she received an Oscar for her film The Octopus Teacher. Crystal Birch created turtle-inspired hats and Michelle Beattie created upcycled turtle broaches. Sealand Gear gifted an Econyl Moon, a moonbag made from regenerated nylon from waste, to each guest.
“I appreciated the effort that each of the 130 guests went to to rent, make, and rewear. This goes a long way in changing the fashion narrative and being slower and gentler in a consumerist culture which affects planet earth,” Gita Amber Carroll, founder of The Good Machine, one of the key organisers of the gala.
When clothing made from plastic (including polyester, nylon and acrylic) fabric is washed or sent to a landfill, it releases plastic microfibres into the environment. According to reports, at least half a million tonnes of plastic microfibres are discharged into wastewater from the washing of synthetic clothes annually. To guide the guests on what to wear for the event, Twyg created an open-source guide to slow fashion in South Africa – with accessible information, tips, and brands to look into.
Jackie May, founder of Twyg, wears a cotton (woven and made in South Africa) Imprint ZA dress
Zandi Ndhlovu, founder of The Black Mermaid Foundation says about One Blue Heart, “This is a collective dream. It’s about imagining how we partner with each other to walk toward the world we want to see, together. To be a part of this is to remember that we are a community that together we can make anything possible.”
MC for the evening and founder of The Black Mermaid Foundation Zandi Ndhlovu wears The Bam Collective with Kirsten Goss earrings
The gala aimed to raise funds for the establishment of a state-of-the-art turtle conservation centre. Due to ocean plastic pollution, all seven species of marine turtles are now endangered or critically endangered. In an attempt to save the species, a ground-breaking Turtle Conservation Centre supported by the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation is in the pipeline to be built at the V&A Waterfront. This will be a marine wildlife hospital unlike any other on the African continent.
“The reason this evening is about zero waste is because we do not only want to work at the end result – turtles’ plastic ingestion and other human-caused injuries. It is fundamental to work at the system and the consciousness that we all have,” says Ann Lamont, Chairperson of the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation. Transforming the fashion industry is one way of creating system change. After all, the ocean is the planet’s blue heart and without it, there would be no life.
The Two Ocean Aquarium and Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation staff worked hard behind the scenes. Many are wearing rental items from Style Rotate
- Feature image: Dylan McGarry, Aaniyah Martin and Cleo Droomer all wearing DROOMER
- Image credits: Hein Hough (except for the last image which was supplied by The Good Machine.
- To learn more about the event, check out the One Blue Heart website here.
- Hats from The Real Crystal Birch
- Aaniyah, Jackie and Zandi wear accessories from Kirsten Goss