Sustainable Action | May 5, 2021
Hyosung Collaborates with ‘Kang Hyuk’ – the Brand the World Has its Eyes On
Eco-friendly, upcycling fashion brand, Kang Hyuk, launches new eco-friendly clothing with Hyosung’s reclaimed airbags
Hyosung Advanced Materials made an announcement on the May 3rd that it has supplied airbag fabric to industrial fashion brand the world has its eyes on, Kang Hyuk, to make an eco-friendly collection forward-fashion apparel.
The airbag fabric provided by Hyosung Advanced Materials is a product that cannot be sold due to inconsistent specifications. However, with the help of the Kang Hyuk team, the recycled material could help make 700 jackets.
Kang Hyuk will use the airbag fabric in 23 styles of clothing, including jackets and pants with a skiwear concept, and will showcase its collection in early May.
Kang Hyuk, an eco-friendly upcycling fashion brand is run by two designers, Choi Kang-hyuk, Son Sang-rak. It is well known for its eco-friendly fashion products made of materials such as airbags and ceiling materials used in cars such as Mercedes-Benz. In particular, it features works that utilize original details such as logos, bar codes, and sewing lines printed on airbag fabric.
Kang Hyuk won the 2021 “Samsung Fashion Design Fund (SFDF) and participated in the LVMH Prize, a Nobel Prize in fashion, in 2019, raising a new awareness in the global fashion market.
Recently, famous hip-hop artists in Korea as well as famous rappers and designers abroad have worn Kang Hyuk apparel, making it a synonym for hip clothes worn by Fashionistas.
This collaboration was initiated by Hyosung Chairman, Cho Hyun-joon, who is very interested in eco-friendly fashion and textile trends and proposed the collaboration with Kang Hyuk.
The brand’s attention to “strong innovation” by making clothing out of recycled materials, caught our Chairman’s attention as it aligns with Hyosung’s strong corporate sustainability values.
Hyosung Advanced Materials, which produces airbag fabrics in addition to various industrial materials such as seat belt fibers, aramid fibers, carbon fibers, and carpets, will keep co-working with Kang Huck. Hyosung’s eco-friendly fiber has acquired the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), certification as an environmentally durable and strong brand.
Looking ahead, Hyosung plans on collaborating with Kang Hyuk to adopt its portfolio of regen fibers and various functional materials, which recycle transparent PET bottles, in the making of eco-friendly clothes such as T-shirts and outerwear – both domestically in Korea and overseas.
Hyosung expects the collaboration to help expand the domestic and foreign eco-friendly fashion markets and raise consumer awareness of recycled products.
Hyosung is leading the domestic eco-friendly fashion market by expanding the supply of eco-friendly textiles such as ‘Regen Seoul’, ‘Regen Jeju’ and ‘Regen Ocean’, which are made from recycled transparent PET bottles.
