French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent is showing its humanitarian side with the new, limited edition Muse Two Artisanal Recycled, a handbag made from a fair trade fabric especially crafted from recycled plastic bags and cotton fabric by women in Burkina Faso, reports Vogue.fr.
The members of GAFREH, a local women’s group to promote economic recovery in Burkina Faso, "have developed a unique technique to create a textile composed of recycled plastic bags and woven cotton, which, procured at fair trade exclusively by Yves Saint Laurent, has been fashioned into an edition of the house’s iconic ‘Muse Two’ bag," the company explains on their Facebook page.
Burkina Faso is a small landlocked African country that gained its independence from France in 1960. Political freedoms are severely restricted in the country, and human rights organizations are concerned about numerous acts of state-sponsored violence against journalists and other politically active members of society.
Only 60 bags have been created as part of this extremely limited run, and each one is unique. Available now through the company’s official website, the Muse Two carries a price tag of $1,720 US.
The YSL brand was founded in 1962 by the eponymous designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé. The couture house closed in 2002, but the ready-to-wear and accessories lines continue as part of the Gucci Group, under ownership of the multinational holding company PPR.