Vegea is a company specialising in research into innovative textile solutions based on organic (biobased) materials, founded in 2016 by architect Gianpiero Tessitore and chemist Francesco Merlino. It rose to prominence thanks to its project awarded at the Global Change Award competition organised by the H&M Foundation. We are talking about Wineleather, the material obtained from grape marc discarded by the agri-food industry and processed through a sustainable process that uses machinery already present in tannery facilities.

After a brief period of fine-tuning the plant-based leather, Vegea has finally launched a first trial collection to test the material used to create products such as shoes, bags and garments. For the occasion, it has entrusted the creative work to Tiziano Guardini, one of the most prestigious designers in the world of sustainable fashion.

For a younger audience, Vegea offers colourful sneakers dyed with non-toxic dyes and decorated with the printed fox logo

The sneakers offered by Vegea are made in a range of colour options

For the footwear, Tiziano Guardini enlisted the support of craftswomen Giovanna D'Ulisse and Francesca Latini, also known as le Mastro

The logo conceived by Tiziano Guardini for Vegea's first collection draws inspiration from Le Petit Prince, the work he was reading while designing the pieces

For the more elegant shoe line, Tiziano Guardini designed a stiletto-heeled shoe that leaves the foot exposed on one side of the upper

An interplay of woven straps characterises the open-sided court shoe

For the elegant man, Vegea has designed a basic laceless style made from plant-based leather in its natural colour

The low women's sandal with a fastening embellished by the Vegea fox logo

The three versions of the Foxina bag created by Mauro De Giorgi, Stoker and PianoCi, three graphic artists who reinterpreted the design conceived by eco-designer Guardini according to their own aesthetic

The Foxina is an elegant mini bag conceived by Tiziano Guardini for a woman who travels — a muse and creature of night and day

A detail of the embroidery on the shoulder of the full-length dress made entirely from laser-cut pieces of Wineleather

The fox takes centre stage in the logo of the collection presented by Vegea in Milan because it draws inspiration from Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

With the help of couturiers Antonio Martino and Emilia Caccia, Vegea created a fringed dress on a white base

In perfect cowgirl style, this dress was made entirely from Vegea leather derived from grape marc

Made in collaboration with Pietro Pala Aka Studio for the laser-cut sections, this fringed dress wraps around the body down to the feet

Slightly more angelic is the long dress style offered in white, with fringing from the bodice down to the feet

Read also: Wineleather, the first biomaterial made from wine waste that will replace leather

Vegea's capsule collection with Tiziano Guardini

Tiziano Guardini's creative direction was supported by the skilled hands of several Italian artisans and couturiers who contributed to the making of the garments and accessories featured in the collection. First among them, Mauro De Giorgi, Stoker and PianoCi, who reinterpreted the Vegea bag — renamed "Foxina" — according to their own aesthetic sensibility.

With this collection, Tiziano Guardini set out to tell the story of a fashion that lives in harmony with nature and conveys to the world a new sensitivity, a new feeling towards the essential — a theme particularly well captured in The Little Prince, from which the designer drew inspiration for the creation of the fox-shaped logo.

Read also: Tiziano Guardini, the designer who uses non-violent silk

A material that keeps pace with the times

Through this initiative, Vegea has demonstrated that the plant-based leather obtained from dried grape marc can represent a valid alternative to animal-derived leather. This has also been made possible thanks to the expansion of the colour palette and the characteristics imparted to the material, which have made the collection more varied and adaptable to any taste, from elegant to sporty. Because sustainable fashion is not only respectful towards the environment, animals and people — today it has also become the fruit of the style and creativity of eco-designers who work constantly to make it ever more beautiful to wear.