Sign up to receive the Vogue Business newsletter for the latest luxury news and insights, plus exclusive membership discounts.
Although Estonia-born, London-based designer Johanna Parv had worked with leather before, she never thought the material could be used to create stretchy, breathable and protective (reflective) leather for urban cyclists. However, earlier this year while attending a workshop at Ecco’s Netherlands-based tannery, the creative was able to unlock this innovative new design. On Monday, the jackets will appear in her debut solo show at London Fashion Week.
“Often, the majority of brands do not own their manufacturing. As a result, they do not have the opportunity to express themselves fully,” explains Ecco CEO Panos Mytaros. “The purpose of engaging with them is to give an opportunity to the younger generation to experiment with what we’re good at, which is manufacturing.”
Photo: Morgan Eglin
For the upcoming SS25 show season, Ecco has connected with global fashion education platform 1 Granary on an inaugural collaboration programme. The aim? Offer independent designers full access to Ecco’s in-house research and design teams and cutting-edge facilities, where they’ll get unbridled creative freedom to experiment with Ecco’s innovative material offering. The first cohort will also welcome emerging brands Knwls, Duran Lantink and Charlie Constantinou alongside Parv, as curated by 1 Granary CEO Olya Kuryshchuk. For Ecco, it’s part of a bid to redefine the 60-year-old label for a new generation via the cultural cachet of young designer names.
“You need to create a lot of energy as a brand to transform yourself to engage with younger consumers,” says Mytaros on its slew of back-to-back partnerships. “You can’t just be focused on financial return on investments. Generating new creative energy — externally and internally — is of the utmost importance.”
The designer collaborations follow a blockbuster Copenhagen Fashion Week for Ecco, which was founded in Denmark in 1963 by Birte and Karl Toosbuy. The brand revealed its second collaboration with Italian design agency Ral7000Studio, and celebrated with a dinner, workshop and panel at the Ecco studio, flying in influencers including The Flag Twins, Ines Silva, Sofia Coelho and Cjay Syre for the occasion. Ecco also showcased their ‘Sculpted’ collection in Danish designer Nicklas Skovgaard’s presentation, alongside supplying accessories for London-based label Sinéad O’Dwyer’s first Copenhagen show.
