Paul&Shark is once more the protagonist of the nautical world. The European Finals Dragon Grand Prix, sponsored by the Varese-based company, was held in San Remo from 27 to 31 October.
More than forty boats from 13 different countries competed in an exciting five-day event that saw the Swedish Martin Palsson, this year’s winner of the Gold Cup, triumph. The next event will be in March for the traditional Paul&Shark Trophy, a classic of the class, and in April the grand finale with the European Championship. Paul&Shark’s bond with the sea has always been very strong.
From Save the Sea to Second Life, to Plastic Free certification. Under the banner of the claim “Better People for a Better Planet”, Paul&Shark, the Italian sportswear brand, does not simply produce its collections, which in the mid-1970s brought “the sea into the city”.
Always linked to the world of the sea and its philosophy, Paul&Shark is strongly committed to a series of initiatives in defence of the environment. A commitment that ranges from the use of sustainable raw materials to the use of technologies that reduce environmental impact and support campaigns to safeguard the marine ecosystem. First and foremost, the collaboration with the “Shark Trust”, an international organisation founded in 1997 and dedicated to promoting the study and conservation of sharks. Paul&Shark has made this commitment its own with a dedicated collection, a capsule that will be repeated every season with different products, which on all garments carries a special logo designed by Shark Trust.
This support is completed by donating 10% of the sales proceeds to the Foundation. The collaboration with Shark Trust is flanked by other initiatives that directly involve Paul&Shark production. Such as the Save The Sea project and its collection of garments made with a special recycled polyester yarn that comes from plastic bottles that pollute the sea. Econyl, on the other hand, comes from the recycling of waste materials such as fishing nets, a regenerated nylon yarn that has the same properties as virgin nylon and which Paul&Shark uses to make many garments including outerwear and trousers.
The “Second Life” initiative, under the slogan “No Garments Should be Wasted”, involves garments that do not pass the strict quality controls (about 3%), and which would normally be destroyed. Repaired these garments become “unique pieces”, completing an absolutely virtuous production process. Just as virtuous is the use, for example, of cotton from organic crops where no pesticides or chemical fertilisers are used, or wool from the Beufront estate in Tasmania, home to an excellent merino sheep farm that boasts sustainable production.
A general attention to the environment that has earned Paul&Shark the “Plastic-Free” recognition and that goes hand in hand with constant research that has led to exclusive garment treatments such as, for example, the Typhoon 20000 system that uses a special ultra-thin membrane that ensures maximum waterproofing and wind resistance.
Paul&Shark’s is therefore not just a simple commercial, but a real passion for the sea. A passion that has taken shape in the restoration of a historic boat and in an exclusive collection that bears its name: Kipawa. Designed by Norwegian Christian Jensen in 1937 and launched in 1938 in Oslo, Kipawa is a “Norwegian 10-metre” derived from the 10-metre class of International Tonnage that competed in the Olympic regattas of the 1921 and 1920 Games.
After sailing for decades, Kipawa was shipwrecked on the island of Stromboli in 1995 and then abandoned on the beach. Here she was found by Paul&Shark who recovered her and from 2003 underwent a long and painstaking restoration that allowed Kipawa to sail and win again. In fact, in June 2006 Kipawa won that year’s edition of the Vele Storiche di Viareggio.
Since then, Kipawa’s crew with its clothing is testimonial of the refined but at the same time sober and exclusive elegance that has always distinguished Paul&Shark’s style, while Kipawa tells on the waves of Paul&Shark’s love for the sea and for beautiful things.
