Dune founder launches sustainable trainer brand Lerins

Daniel Rubin, who founded footwear retailer Dune, has launched a new British brand Lerins focused on sustainable trainers.

Inspired by the unspoilt Lérins Islands, located off the coast of the French Riviera, Lerins is a new conscious trainer brand designed in London and made in Portugal with materials sourced in Europe.

Lerins is launching three sustainable trainer styles that feature a directional and sustainable twist on the retro-inspired court trainer that combines style and comfort to "join the dots between modern styling and socially and environmentally conscious crafting techniques".

The British brand is initially launching with a 10-option collection for women and men, including styles made from leather, vegan leather and a leather and canvas sneaker in various colourways.

The premium leather sneaker is available in various colours from muted camel to vibrant green. The leather used is produced to a gold standard in certified Leather Working Group tanneries where the provenance of the raw material is known and approved, and the use of water and chemicals tightly controlled.

While the vegan leather styles, in white and black, are crafted from vegan leather supplied by Lerins’ Italian partner, Vegea, which makes a durable leather-like product from the grape skins left over from winemaking, which is combined with vegetal oils and natural fibres.

Lerins is also launching a leather and canvas sneaker where the canvas has been crafted from recycled sea plastic made by Seaqual who works with the waste management and recycling industries to transform marine litter.

Sustainable sneaker brand Lerins launches online

All Lerins trainers also have a sustainable sole, with recycled cork and foam footbeds, and the outsole is crafted with 30 percent recycled thermoplastic rubber sole and 70 percent virgin rubber. In addition, the linings and laces are 100 percent organic cotton, and the packaging has been designed to be recyclable, compostable or biodegradable.

Lerins also adds that it is supporting the ‘Made in Europe’ philosophy from the outset, working with a small, family-owned factory in Portugal with over 30 years of experience utilising cutting-edge materials from Spain and Italy.

Commenting on the new brand, Rubin said in a statement: “One thing my experience has shown me is making shoes is a complex business – there are well over one hundred processes in the manufacture of footwear.

“My mission is to make shoes in a more sustainable way. Leather, although a bi-product of the food industry, requires the use of lots of water and chemicals to be produced. I was determined, with Lerins, to address these challenges and make my shoes in a more environmentally and socially responsible way.”

Lerins trainers are priced at 130 pounds each and available direct-to-consumer from Lerinslondon.com, ahead of a rollout in a "limited number" of premium stockists later this year.