It is not often enough that fashion makes use of its power to make a point. A legitimate, important, effective point. It uses its shows to tell us that wide-legged trousers are back in, or that the avant-garde is acceptable because the right socialites are Instagramming it.

Chanel is no different. It likes to make headlines. Last season, its brilliant-minded, effervescently eccentric Karl Lagerfeld transformed his runway into a supermarket aisle. This season, he created Boulevard Chanel No.5 and used his setting to create a fashion, and human rights, spectacle.

Some of the worlds most respected supermodels, including Cara Delevingne and Gisele Bundchen, and the more controversial Kendall Jenner, pranced up and down the Parisian-inspired street in their decadent Chanel attire. They surprised onlookers, and the rest of the world, by bringing out placards and chanting feminist mantras.

Slotting nicely into the world of responsibility opened up to Hollywood and fashion by the likes of Emma Watson, Lagerfeld used the opportunity of guaranteed media attention to make a statement. One that is, no pun intended, becoming more and more fashionable. 'He for She' was once more evoked as the catchphrase of the moment, accompanied by 'FREE freedom' and 'Boys should get pregnant too'.

Whether it took a young face such as Emma's to add a credibility of coolness to political campaigns (as Chanel's similarities to Emma's cause suggest), or whether people are becoming braver and more determined in the face of real political threats encroaching our shores, is yet to be determined. But does it really matter?

Fashion has always had a significant influence. Finally, fashion is using it to make a difference.

If there is one face that encapsulates the word 'happy', it is Pharrell Williams'. Since last year, the word has become synonymous with the singer's wide grin and over-the-top hats, dancing around to lyrics as smiley as the cheshire cat. But instead of oozing cheese, the song manages to encapsulate that jump-out-of-bed moment and create quite literally 'happy' atmospheres around the world.

Pharrell has the talent and ability to do that. He manages to get the world smiling, imitating, and talking. So no one could have been better than he to launch G-Star Raw's 'Raw for the Oceans' campaign in New York this week. Somewhat bizarrely, the singer owns a bionic yarn firm, simply called Bionic Yarn, alongside his musical pursuits and street-fashion brands Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream. The company produces a material that is completely recycled from plastic bottles, and has so far featured in the collections of Moncler, Topshop and Adidas.

And now, the entrepreneur has turned his attention to denim. He laughs at the negative associations of eco-fashionistas with 'tree huggers', before explaining the reasons for his latest collaboration: "It's for two reasons: one because the planet does need help. Y'know, our planet is sick. We people are the bloodline and there are some blockages with all the crazy things going on in the world. The second reason is that so many amazing things have happened to me. I've had some really generous and blessed harvesting. The least I can do is get to our global community and give back to the earth.''

The collection debuted at New York Fashion Week last week, to huge success. Whilst it is a bit too ghetto for our personal tastes, it definitely ticks every box in the market it is designed to break. It marks the launch of the world's first denim line made of recycled plastic, and has strengthened the plight of the underwater

As the label insists, 'Happy Oceans, Happy Life'.

Fashionable Causes

NYFW: Happy Times