Virgil Abloh And Evian's New Sustainable Collection

Flashback: at the dawn of 2019, Virgil Abloh collaborated with the mineral water label Evian for an environmentally conscious project. From it, we got the Soma reusable bottle that was 100% eco-friendly, and printed with the bright pink inscription "RAINBOW INSIDE", one of the designer's signatures.

One year on, the duo are reiterating their collaboration with a new limited edition collection titled “Activate Movement”, available from February 14 2020. In the collection are a signature Evian bottle, plus two Soma bottles in a minimalist aesthetic. The new idea? “Activate Movement”, an initiative set up to support design and “provide a platform for people to express themselves, and come up with solutions to be environmentally conscious,” Virgil Abloh told Vogue in an exclusive interview.

This competition of sustainable innovation divided into three themes (waste management, energy consumption reduction and recycling) is open to people aged 18 and 35 and applicants must propose an audacious and pioneering idea for an eco-friendly project. The person with the most innovative project will be awarded 50,000 euros by a panel of judges made up of the American designer himself and members of his studio, Alaska Alaska. Visit www.evian.com/actmov to enter.

For the occasion, Virgil Abloh reveals exclusively to Vogue the details of this new collaboration, of the “Activate Movement” project, and also of the importance of these collaborations for creative output. Take a look.

What was the inspiration for this new collection?

“The inspiration was to give generation, give the public an opportunity to sort of suggest ways to express themselves around the idea of sustainability and water.”

What have you learnt from the collaboration?

“For me I think it’s important the idea of water and sustainability, providing sustainable solutions. Give the opportunity to investigate and learn new things. For sure, for me, I learnt that collaboration doesn’t have to be a one-to-one exchange, what I like about the modernity of this concept is creating a space that encourages the customer to input their ideas and give them a chance to come out."

What do you think makes you unique as a designer?

“I’m authentic to myself, I would hope to think that all designers are authentic to themselves and I think we are all individuals so everyone has a different metric for how they create and I think that what makes me unique”.

What primarily inspires you?

“I'm inspired by everything. It could be a young person in my studio, it could be someone well known, the news of the day, I like to keep my mind open. I'm largely inspired by the past too."

Can you give us some eco-friendly actions that we can start on a daily basis?

“For me the most important is being conscious, you know, conscious of your everyday actions, your mode of consumption and recycling; to be environmentally conscious is the start and the most important".