What happens when a slow fashion luxury brand for women meets a vegan bag manufacturer? The two combine their strengths and values - conscious luxury, uncompromising quality and less waste for a more sustainable fashion industry – and create a product that has all of these characteristics.
The result is a collection called Runa that uses the next-gen material Mirum, a 100 percent bio-based, plastic-free and biodegradable leather alternative. The two labels are the Berlin slow fashion brand Lotta Ludwigson, known for its sophisticated organic circular women’s suits, and the Mannheim label Melina Bucher, which opened its own master bag maker two years ago.
FashionUnited spoke last year with Lotta Ludwigson co-founder Charlotte Piller and founder Melina Bucher, who met at Neonyt three years ago.
“I loved her circular, ethical and sustainable approach to bags – she uses some of the most innovative materials around. She later told me that she felt the same way about Lotta Ludwigson: to design clothes that never become textile waste, are fully recyclable, biodegradable and timelessly beautiful,” recalls Piller.
The two entrepreneurs discovered that they shared the same values and stayed in touch. “After a lot of technical discussions about materials, exchanging advice and years of exchanging ideas about a better fashion industry, Melina wrote to me at the beginning of the year: ‘Hey Charlotte, let’s do something together,’” Piller continues.
After numerous brainstorming sessions, calls, messages, sampling rounds, photo shoots and meetings in Mannheim, the time-limited Runa capsule collection was created, which can now be pre-ordered.
“With Mirum we are bringing real vegan luxury leather into the fashion world – without any plastic. In combination with Lotta Ludwigson’s slow fashion approach, conscious fashion is created that sets new standards,” comments Bucher in a statement.
What makes the collection so special?
It is made from Mirum, a material made from natural rubber, vegetable oils and waxes, natural pigments and minerals that does not contain any plastics, PU or PVC. It became known, among other things, through its use by the designer Stella McCartney.
MIirum is manufactured by US company Natural Fiber Welding and is completely bio-based and biodegradable. The material is colored with plant and mineral pigments and can be individually customized with natural fillers. This allows countless possibilities in color tone, shine and texture.
What is particularly sustainable is that every piece of clothing is made-to-order and is manufactured with the greatest care and precision craftsmanship in Melina Bucher’s studio in Mannheim. This means it is only sewn when it is ordered to avoid overproduction.
“Our shared vision was to create a collection that combines modern femininity, sustainability and courage – for women who show attitude and know what they want,” explains Piller.
The three-piece capsule collection in black consists of an A-line dress, a pencil skirt and a vest. Prices range from 497 euros for the vest to 729 euros for the skirt to 898 euros for the dress. Sizes range from XS to XL.
All items can be ordered either via the Lotta Ludwigson website (within the EU and Switzerland) or via the Melina Bucher website, which also delivers to the UK and USA.
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- Stella McCartney presents bags made from the leather alternative Mirum