Could grape waste be the next fashion trend?

Alcohol-free brand Oddbird has teamed up with New York City artist Meng Du on a line of bags made from wasted grapes, and the fashion accessories are retailing at 1,500.

Unwasted is a new line of faux-leather bags created using wasted grape marc from the winemaking process.

Oddbird, Scandinavia’s largest alcohol-free craft wine producer, is now making use of the waste from the wine production to create a leather from the recycled grape skins.

In order to future proof winemaking, we are experimenting with the lifecycle and production to optimize the use of resources.Unwasted was born out of those challenges, and aligns with Oddbirds goal to inspire a more conscious lifestyle,” said Ylva Nestmark, Brand Director at Oddbird.

The grape leather is created by small French leather maker Planet of the Grapes.

Grape waste is collected from the vineyards, dried under the Provenal sunlight and then ground into a fine powder. This is blended with natural local ingredients, and turned into a liquid before being transformed a type of leather.

The bags are designed in collaboration with Meng Du, a young designer from Parsons School of Design, New York.

I see myself more like a designer rather than one concerned only with fashion as a medium. It is there that I can be the most inventive about two issues that interest me the most, namely sustainability and minimal design,” said Meng Du.

The artist took inspiration from the squashed and dented shapes of recycled containers. The bags are molded from empty discarded milk cartons and drinks cans.

“The ideal product is one that the essence of which has been reduced to perfection for its user. The audience is interested in this kind of product may be a niche, but hopefully we are moving towards making long-term investments in something more meaningful than the casual fast fashion purchase, they added.

“A challenge going forward now is finding a partner for collecting grape marc at a bigger scale, and putting grape leather into larger production,” Ylva Nestmark added.

The collection consists of two versions and sizes, Unwasted Merlot and Unwasted Chardonnay, retailing at 1,500 and 1,000 respectively. A virtual fashion show took place on February 24 via the Metaverse. The bags are available via pre-order and will be produced on-demand later in 2022.