As the world moves into a more sustainably focused mindset, brands and designers are also trying to find sustainable alternatives for their products, and Eugène Riconneaus is no exception. After having taken a brief hiatus in his career, the French shoe designer remerges with his new project of sneakers made from marine litter.

Words by Fernanda Russomano

Having been interested in shoemaking since his early teenage years, Eugène Riconneaus gained recognition for his ability to merge art and shoe design. From designing and making his first pair of sneakers made of nothing but leftover scrap materials in 2009, Eugène officially started his career as a shoe designer in 2010 and got to sell his creations and work with big names in the industry, such as the concept store Colette and the popular footwear brand, Supreme. He also collaborated on cross-over projects with Warner Bros, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

From the start of his career, Eugène always had his eye on sustainability. After discovering that in the fashion industry, about 30% of leather and rubber scraps are thrown in the trash, he began collecting leftovers from his designs. In 2014 Eugène created a shoe design with up-cycled leather and recycled rubber that was aimed at the skateboarding community and distributed by Supreme in the following year. Since then, the designer has worked with footwear brands such as M. Moustache, Angarde, Ash and Dr. Martens.

Walk with the ocean

After coming across a huge amount of marine litter in the ocean near the town where he grew up, the designer decided to turn his studio into a laboratory and focus on research. Twenty-four months later, influenced by the “invisible” materials and not just the design, ER developed its own material made from marine litter. With 50% of ocean waste coming from sea-based activities, the material developed by ER includes a combination of seafood waste, lost fishnets and seaweed.

“I’ve always dreamed of creating my own pigment. If Anish Kapoor and Yves Klein can create their own colour, I’ve created my own material that could be any colour; I start in blue.”

– Eugène Riconneaus

“I see this material as ready-made to give a proposition to others and influence action for the ocean. The idea is to create the demand that appreciates and cherishes marine litter products: from fishnets, plastics to oyster farms’ waste and algae.”

– Eugène Riconneaus

Bringing together bio-marine ocean plastic waste, innovative techniques and the exclusive pigment produced in house, with Eugène’s passion for skateboarding culture, ER’s new sneaker line is a blend of environmentalism and style. Low tops and high-tops are available in different color combinations with the striking blue soles that are the signature element for this collection, and all sneakers are composed of 78.5% recycled elements. Beside ocean plastic and marine litter recovered from the Bay of Biscay, the sneakers also have in their composition leftover leather scraps, natural cork and recycled rubber. In addition, ER promises its sneakers to be comfortable, breathable, jump absorbent and water resistant.

“In my mind, the new creativity of tomorrow is about what isn’t visible.”

– Eugène Riconneaus

 

Crafted by hand in a family atelier situated in the Porto region in Portugal, all sneakers are recycled and recyclable, and their fabrication emits 55% less carbon dioxide compared to a similar product. Since ER’s main focus is sustainability, there won’t be product releases every season, but rather whenever there are new innovations and techniques for the brand and the environment.

To help launch the first production of ER Soulier, and in order to slow down the fashion backlog, all sneakers are available by pre-order at www.eugenericonneaus.com.

All images courtesy of Eugène Riconneaus.