Magnum is transforming cocoa beans into couture

Europe – While haute couture is traditionally a resource-heavy, unsustainable sector, the ice cream brand is stepping in to offer an unlikely solution. As part of a partnership with fashion designer Iris Van Herpen, the brand unveiled its Magnum Vegan Dress during Paris Fashion Week. Created using an intricate 3D design, the dress features plant-like body embellishments which are copper-coated with upcycled organza.

Simultaneously offering a celebration of Magnum’s vegan ice cream and a foray into the sustainable fashion arena, the launch marks the first haute couture dress to be made from cocoa bean husks – which have been processed to create a fully organic biopolymer material. It also sets the tone for a long-term sustainable materials research project with the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC).

‘This is part of the brand's long-term commitment of putting sustainability at the heart of the brand and working towards revolutionising its waste product into a viable, circular solution inspired by its long-standing inspiration from fashion,’ reads a press release about the project. In this way, Magnum demonstrates how fashion’s food strategy is evolving to create mutually beneficial sustainable solutions.