UK's Stella McCartney launches first luxury bag made from Mirum

“We crafted our Falabella re-edition bag from Mirum, which debuted at our Stella Winter 23 runway show,” Stella McCartney posted on its Twitter page recently.

The Falabella bag uses Mirum made at NFW’s Peoria, Illinois facility, and is crafted in Italy for Stella McCartney accessories. It features a recycled brass chain handle, recyclable aluminium body chain, zero-waste zamak medallions, organic cotton lacing, and a lining from recycled polyester, sourced from water bottles.

The fashion brand had partnered with Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) to develop Mirum. The fabric is touted as the first-known scalable, 100 per cent plastic-free alternative to animal leather.

The Stella McCartney SOS Fund had invested in the parent company NFW to develop Mirum. By partnering with NFW to create two Mirum vegan alternatives to animal leather, the brand aims to inspire others in the fashion industry to encourage responsible production and consumption.

Produced in Illinois, the innovative alternative to animal leather is consciously crafted from a combination of virgin natural materials and upcycled agricultural side-streams. The craftsmanship of Mirum prioritises the local communities and environments by only utilising natural, local ingredients, in turn enhancing local biodiversity and regenerating soil systems.

Durable and responsibly made, Mirum has an extremely low carbon footprint—significantly lower than conventional leather and its synthetic alternatives. The nutrients used in Mirum are 100 per cent plant-based and are naturally abundant and renewable. It requires no tanning and is derived from all-natural inputs.

Stella McCartney is known to continuously invest in and develop new and innovative leather alternatives, like Mirum, that meet environmental, social, and luxury quality standards. For example, its Frayme Mylo is the world’s first-ever luxury bag crafted from mycelium, the root-like structures of fungi. This plant-based alternative to animal leather uses mycelium grown in a lab by the brand’s long-term partners, Bolt Threads.

Stella McCartney refrains from sourcing animal skins for leather due to its related negative environmental impact including biodiversity loss, land degradation, and inhumane treatment of animals. The majority of the brand’s synthetics are from recycled sources; Stella McCartney is committed to source from 100 per cent recycled sources by 2025, the brand said on its website.

Mirum supports the following United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals—clean water and sanitation; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; responsible consumption and production; and life below water.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)