Jeans Specially Made To Fit Cleopatra Highlight The Issue Of Fashion Waste

Advertising firm Wunderman Thompson and TG3D Studios, its Taiwanese technology client, have teamed up to create a custom pair of jeans designed to fit Cleopatra.

Yup, you read that right. The bottomwear is based on historical research—including measurements of hundreds of Coptic Egyptian women who resembled the ancient queen; archival information, and genetic data—to engineer a size that would perfectly fit one of history’s most famous women. 

The jeans debuted at a launch event at the Fashion for Good Museum, a sustainability-focused site in Amsterdam. Interestingly, they aren’t just a unique way of representing historical figures in a modern light, but are aimed at highlighting the burgeoning issue of fashion pollution. 

According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the fashion industry contributes to 10% of the world’s total carbon emissions. Worse still, it’s extremely wasteful, with 85% of textiles (21 billion tons annually) landing up in landfills. 

By turning to this ingenious 3D-scanning technology, the pair of jeans demonstrates a future in which people could all be fitted exactly to their measurements, so when they’re looking for a new pair of pants, it’ll be tailored just for them, eliminating any textile waste or ill-fitting returns. 

Could custom-made clothing be the future of sustainable fashion? Here’s some food for thought.

[via Branding in Asia and The Stable, cover image via Wunderman Thompson Amsterdam]