This designer made bubble-wrap clothing, and his handiwork is quite impressive

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As someone who regularly steps out in jeggings and pajama tops, I can’t claim to understand much about the world of fashion. But I’m not the only one doing a double take at the “bubble wrap” fashions designer Craig Green debuted during London Fashion Week.

The line of plastic menswear was unveiled as part of Green’s fall 2019 collection at London Fashion Week Men’s. The see-through outfits came in a range of bright candy colors and featured zig-zag and bubble-like patterns. In some cases, the outfits also included protective rain veils.

And while it looks like these intimidatingly attractive men are simply wrapped in large swathes of bubble wrap, the get-ups are actually made from synthetic garbage bags that have been ruched to look like everyone’s favorite packaging material.

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“I was thinking of this man made of glass,” Green explained at the end of his show, “and that idea doesn’t have to mean fragility. It can also mean strength.”

He went on to explain his production technique, and his decision to use something as disposable as bin liners as part of high fashion. “I like the idea that something so light and throwaway is so protective,” he said.

The one time I wore a garbage bag, I was dressed up as a pepper shaker for Halloween. The outfit felt simultaneously flimsy and sweaty, and also so baggy that all movements were made a thousand times more awkward. But what do I know? (Reminder: Nothing.)

This is certainly not Green’s first rodeo. His fashions appear in high-end boutiques and department stores around the world, including Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and Selfridges.

And according to the bio on his website, his designs have also been featured in major art exhibits, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “China: Through the Looking Glass” and “HEAVENLY BODIES: Fashion and the Catholic imagination.” Green has also been commissioned to create costumes for the Royal Opera House and, perhaps less surprisingly, Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant.”

In fact, a poll of international retailers and editors voted Green the menswear designer of the year at last month’s Fashion Awards, an accolade he’s actually received three times.

When all is said and done, Green’s bubble-wrap outfits are likely not the strangest thing to come out of Fashion Week. Does anyone else remember platform Crocs or thigh-high UGGs?

So what do you think? Could you pull off an entire outfit made of bubble wrap?

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About the Author
Steph Auteri
Steph Auteri has written about women's health, sexuality, and sex education for the Atlantic, Pacific Standard, VICE, the Establishment, and other publications. She also nerds out on the regular at Book Riot, teaches vinyasa yoga, and manages to somehow squeeze in the whole motherhood thing.

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