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lifestyle, ACCESSOIRES
“META MIRUM^®”
HANDBAG

"This is where a convincing design
becomes crucial – one that makes exploring an
alternative material truly worthwhile."
 

How important is the traditional look and feel of leather for your bags?

NICOLA BURGGRAF: Leather is still considered the gold standard, with a long cultural history that represents quality, durability and traditional craftsmanship, and inspires a strong sense of trust. New, more sustainable materials still have to earn that trust. A familiar look and feel can help bridge the gap, especially for people who are trying a leather alternative for the first time. During this transition, it's important for the new product to feel familiar and trustworthy, while also conveying a sense of innovation.
 

Although leather is a natural material, it has a significant environmental impact. How strong is the pressure to find alternatives?

ELENA BURGGRAF-REUSCH: Leather production is highly resource-intensive and environmentally impactful. Yet the push to replace it is driven not only by ecological concerns but also by evolving consumer attitudes and a willingness to embrace innovation. Today, many exciting next-generation materials offer comparable – and even superior – qualities with a significantly lower ecological footprint. Anyone choosing a leather alternative today is helping to advance the cause of sustainability.
 

Working with new materials can be challenging. How did you approach MIRUM^®?

NICOLA BURGGRAF: New materials require an intensive familiarisation phase during which we undertake countless tests and prototype iterations to find out: How does the material drape? How can it be embossed and sewn? Do our adhesives and edge colours work as expected? And how does it react to environmental influences? Beyond these technical considerations, there is the challenge of building customer trust in an unfamiliar material. This is where a convincing design becomes crucial – one that makes exploring an alternative material truly worthwhile.
 

Does the material offer other design options, and will there be more designs?

ELENA BURGGRAF-REUSCH: In general, we take a liberated approach to bags, freeing ourselves from conventional design constraints. It’s not an issue for us if a new material can’t be crafted in the same way as leather. MIRUM® now features across almost our entire product range, making it an integral part of the collection. We're currently evaluating another exciting new leather alternative to expand our material offerings – so stay tuned!