The start-up Vlace makes completely recycled sneakers and redefines leather. The young founder Viola Weller is behind the brand.
Sustainable sneakers: The start-up Vlace designs shoes from the remains of Tuscan wine production.Trains
Trester, that’s what the wine production industry calls press residues in technical jargon. But can these residues be recycled and made into shoes? Founder Viola Weller does exactly that: She designs sneakers and shoelaces from sustainable raw materials in European production – her production chain stretches from Tuscany to Porto to Germany.
Her brand started two years ago with unusual satin and cotton shoelaces. Now the young woman from Mannheim had the idea of chic shoes that no animals have to suffer for. Her first unisex shoe is already available for pre-sale – and that sparks interest in the new brand.
Sneaker with Tuscan origins
The fact that the fashion industry makes a significant contribution to environmental pollution should no longer be a secret. This also includes the shoe industry: Around 70 percent of the shoes produced are still made in Asia and cause a lot of CO₂ emissions through manufacture and transport. Not to mention that environmentally harmful materials such as leather or plastic are processed.
To counteract this, there have been vegan shoe alternatives for a number of years. One of the pioneers here was the shoe start-up Sorbas Shoes from Berlin, which has been selling vegan shoes of all kinds since 2015. Well-known brands such as Adidas or Reebok have also jumped on the sustainability trend. In the range of the popular mule manufacturer Birkenstock you can now also find classic models such as “Boston” or “Arizona” in a sustainable version made of imitation leather.
Viola Weller’s big dream has always been her own collection of accessories. “Something with shoes or handbags,” says the 27-year-old. Since there are already vegan bags on the market in a number of shapes and colors, she decided to design her own shoes first. But it should be completely vegan and sustainable. Weller explains that she cannot be held responsible if animals have to suffer for her products.
Therefore, it was out of the question for them to bring conventional leather sneakers onto the market. From hemp to cork to pineapple or cactus leather: There are quite a few sustainable raw materials from which vegan shoes can be made. Since Viola Weller grew up in a wine region in the Palatinate, the idea of designing sneakers made of so-called grapeskin was born.
Founder Viola Weller shows her vegan unisex sneaker.Viola Weller
As the world’s leading wine-growing country, Italy produces around 50 million hectoliters of wine every year. Why just throw away the waste? Residues from pressing, including grape seeds, skins and residues, can be mixed with grape seed oil and a water-based PU binder to create a viscous paste. Due to the color of the grapes, the paste is slightly discolored.
A plant-based dye is then added to obtain the desired color. The finished paste is then compacted with a roller and pressed into a leather-like material. According to the founder, the grain of the surface hardly differs from that of conventional sneakers. This makes it possible to design the smooth leather look from wine residues. Maize leather is also used in the shoes. Ultimately, the finished materials are sent from Italy to Portugal, where the actual shoe production takes place.
“Nothing to hide”: Keeping the production chain transparent
The production of the grape leather takes place entirely in Europe: a clear advantage over other vegan leather alternatives such as cactus or pineapple leather, which is mainly obtained in South America. In order to better understand the manufacturing process, the designer herself moved to Portugal for a few weeks at the beginning of the year. True to the motto “Nothing to hide”, Weller wants to guarantee a transparent production chain for its shoes. It is important to her to work with people who share values that are important to her in terms of environmental and social standards. She found this in a production facility in Porto that had already worked with a few small start-ups. The now large fashion group Axel Arigato also had its origins here.
The Portuguese producer has experience in processing grape leather. He assured Weller that the material was a good fit because it was very soft and conformed to the foot. Nevertheless, the sustainable leather alternative should be robust and durable so that there are no creases or tears. What Viola Weller liked most about the collaboration was the enthusiasm for her ideas: “I drew my idea on a piece of paper in a very old-school way. The producer responded immediately and wanted to implement every detail.”
The vegan sneakers come in a vintage-inspired design in simple white and gray nuances, with small, gold-colored details as eye-catchers. On the side you will find the letter V, which stands for both the first letter of the brand and Weller’s first name. The three small seams on top of each other on the right side of the shoe also add a personal touch.
“The seams represent my two sisters and me. It was important to me to bring something personal into the design,” explains Viola Weller. In a current Kickstarter campaign, the first batch of production is to be financed through crowdfunding. The vegan unisex shoe is currently available in the presale on the Vlace website for 115 euros instead of the regular price of 175 euros. The sneaker, which comes in recycled shoe boxes, should be available from the end of November.