Vegea: grape “leather”
Would you like a small glass of wine? Red, white, rosé? Or would you prefer to have grapes at your feet ? Yes, yes, it's possible!
In the list of alternative materials to leather we find an innovative fruit-based material , namely VEGEA , an eco-responsible and vegan material made from grape waste .
So what is grape leather?
First of all, let's clarify that it is not entirely correct to call it vegan leather because the word "leather" normally refers to the skin of an animal.
The nickname of this alternative material to leather is VEGEA which is produced and distributed by the homonymous company in Italy in Milan. This fake grape leather is made from the residues that remain after the harvest and that cannot be used. This is what is called grape marc in viticulture: the skin of the grapes, the seeds, the branches or even the stems.
The marc is collected and dried to extract all the moisture, then ground into a fine powder. This grape marc represents 55% of the material. Then, to solidify the material and make it resistant, this powder is mixed with vegetable oil and water-based polyurethane.
VEGEA does not contain solvents, and is produced in several versions that differ in technical and aesthetic properties such as thickness, elasticity, weight, finish, texture.
So after pineapple or apple , it's the turn of grapes to replace animal leather and the result is up to par: a quality, sustainable vegan material that respects animals and is ideal for pretty vegan fashion . Faux grape leather has an appearance that is very similar to animal leather, both visually and to the touch, and it is also a resistant material.
What can you make from grape leather ?
This beautiful eco-friendly material is perfect for making vegan shoes , leather goods and accessories of all kinds. Here are some examples of fashion items made from grape "leather" :
Women's Vegan Grape Leather Sneakers
