When we pause to think about what we enjoy the most, the sea comes to mind as our faithful companion. She embraces us with every wave, purifies our being and gives us life to carry on. But we have done something wrong. We have ignored her wounds. We cannot keep this up. As a society we are seeing the grave consequences of our actions, of our modern lifestyle and consumption habits. At Dkoko, we stopped carrying on about our business as usual, and started thinking about how we could do better; how we, as a brand, could take on this important issue in earnest. It was with this intention that Mareas was born.
Mareas emerged as a passion project with the vision of making aware through making visible, of going beyond the walls of our store space and using our brand’s platform in a responsible way.
The Mareas story began on the shores of small-town Tárcoles, in the province of Puntarenas, along Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast. It was impossible for us to ignore the piles of solid waste overflowing at the shoreline on the beach; the sheer quantity of plastic, astounding. Fishing nets and line, bottles, bags, microplastics and children’s toys. We cleaned up and collected everything we possibly could; and in that moment, trash became our resource for artistic creation.
The transformation begins. Ideas translate into tangible objects, reimagined with endless possibilities explored. Every net gets washed, and intentions woven. A beautiful curtain is born from the waste products found beside the sea; and it is no longer garbage, transformed now as part of our window to the outside world. It becomes a work of art, accompanying our swimwear designs, which we are also so very proud to present to you. Into the Deep showcases Dkoko's concerted efforts to make a change, with an entire collection made from regenerated fabrics. Ignoring the issue is no longer an option. The planet is hurting, and it is high time to make a change.
Written by Rosa Obando and translated into english by Tara Ruttenberg.
Video & Photos by Dixiana Salas.