Titouan Bernicot

When we think of paradise, what images do we conjure? There's a good chance that for most people, the vision in our mind's eye would resemble French Polynesia. A remarkable archipelago of over 100 tropical islands in the South Pacific ocean, it's the birthplace and home of Titouan Bernicot, who founded Coral Gardeners in 2017, aged 18. He's since been nominated by Time magazine as one of the world's most influential climate leaders.

On Restoration

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Growing up on a pearl farm before moving to Mo'orea, his early childhood years were, he says, "Mainly spent barefoot, with no television. With no school, no phone, and no supermarkets, our food supplies were delivered once a month via boat. My first friends were animals and time was spent swimming, fishing, surfing and climbing trees." Hardly surprising then, that Titouan developed a strong relationship with nature. He shares, "When I was sixteen I came across a patch of bleached coral in the reef spot where I grew up surfing. It was white, brittle and lifeless. I learned that global warming was the root cause and that we'd already lost half of the world's coral reefs." The scale of the loss was staggering, but it was proximity that moved him to act quickly. The reef wasn't something distant or theoretical, it was a daily companion. "Those first steps I took to launch Coral Gardeners felt more like an impulse than a decision."

That sense of closeness shapes how Titouan thinks about responsibility. "Living so near to the reef gives you a strong sense of how interconnected and fragile ecosystems are. It's something island cultures have never really lost touch with." The problem, as he sees it, is that modern systems teach replacement rather than repair. "In our world, when something breaks, we replace it. But it's not like that with ecosystems. Some corals only grow a couple of inches per year. Loss takes years to replace."

Titouan and the team at Coral Gardeners take a pragmatic approach, "We are blending community-driven efforts with cutting-edge science to create a movement to restore coral reefs. What we're really doing is applied science, accelerated to meet the pace of climate warming. The data tells us what works and if the science changes, so do our actions." In recent years, data revealed that planting more mature coral colonies dramatically improved survival rates – a finding that proved crucial during last year's severe global bleaching event. "That's exactly what we're seeing on the reef," he says. "Even after the most intense conditions, those corals are surviving."

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He's excited about new monitoring methods, particularly environmental DNA sampling. "With just a water sample, we can learn so much about what's happening on the reef – and the more we know, the better we can protect it." He is equally animated when discussing the ReefApp, an AI-powered monitoring tool developed by Coral Gardeners' science and CG Labs teams. He explains, "In the past, our gardeners manually monitored everything. It was slow, physical, and time-consuming." Now, entire reef sites can be documented in a fraction of the time, turning hours of manual labour into usable data that helps the team adapt and respond quickly. "It's like an AI-powered reef restoration program in your pocket and it has the potential to scale coral restoration worldwide."

Technology is (obviously) useful, but never positioned as a substitute for people. With its HQ in Mo'orea, Coral Gardeners stays deeply rooted in Polynesian values. "Our work culture is deeply influenced by the belief that humans are part of nature, not separate from it," he says. This worldview is embedded in practice. Scientific surveys are conducted using language, names and knowledge that's been passed down through local culture. "These are the species our team has grown up around. They've formed relationships with them. That familiarity creates a profound sense of care because they're protecting what they belong to."

As an organisation that began with a small but enthusiastic group of freedivers, fishermen and surfers has expanded into an internationally recognised community of advocates, scientists and engineers intent on cultivating the transplanting corals. Titouan describes how a unified effort is the only sustainable foundation for long-term ecosystem regeneration.

"Our model is built around grassroots action – working with coastal communities who already have a strong connection to the reef." The organisation's work in Thailand demonstrated how this model can travel. Using the ReefApp, local communities were able to learn Coral Gardeners' restoration methods within weeks. Proudly, he shares, "It means we can take our mission global while keeping restoration local, so communities remain stewards of the reef they depend on."

Creativity has been central to that shift. From the beginning, Coral Gardeners has used imagery and storytelling to share what he calls, "The beauty of the ocean, and to be honest, I think that's inspired more people to want to protect it and drive positive change." Titouan remains clear-eyed about the limits of awareness. "There's a misconception that activists and NGOs will take care of everything, but reducing emissions is a global responsibility." "We all rely on a stable climate. That's what supports livelihoods, supply chains and food systems. Without that foundation, everything else becomes irrelevant."

"Right now, we're trying to preserve what's left so reefs can become oases of biodiversity and life for the future." But he insists that restoration alone isn't enough. "This needs global systemic change." Reefs that can thrive, sustain themselves and spread. Asked how brands like Marfa Stance can help, he returns to the idea of leadership. "Spreading the word matters. Partnerships matter." But action matters more. "That means committing to reducing emissions and transparently reporting them," he says. "Not as a marketing exercise. Not as a box to tick. We need new measures of success beyond capital," he says. "Beyond profit alone. Our collective future depends on it."

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We are on a mission to revolutionize ocean conservation and create a global movement to save the world’s coral reefs through active reef restoration, awareness activities and innovative solutions, developed by our CG labs.

www.coralgardeners.org

Welcome to The Stance. A natural extension of the conversations, places and most importantly, the people who have long shaped the brand. This printed record celebrates our community – and takes a closer look at how the connections we've made have played a part in defining the shape and unique spirit of Marfa Stance.

Across its pages, are stories from our global collective. Long-form interviews with humans whose lives, practices and points of view reflect a shared sensibility, rather than one single aesthetic. United by the way they move through the world with curiosity, creativity, and conviction, these conversations lean into the value of slowing down.

A publication is the original anti-scroll – something permanent you can live with and return to, time after time. Forever evolving with enduring, timeless appeal, The Stance mirrors our approach to clothing. It's an invitation into the Marfa Stance world, their voices, values, and the rhythm of their universe.

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