ECCO Leather and DSM Dyneema have worked together to develop a new paper-thin Dyneema Bonded Leather material, which features a luxurious look and feel of leather with the strength of the Dyneema fibre.

“We effortlessly cooperate with trailblazers and state-of-the-art brands to create fabrics and materials for performance-inspired apparel, footwear and accessories that are stronger, lighter, and more durable and comfortable than anything currently available,” said Noud Steffens, global business director DSM Dyneema Performance Fabrics.

ECCO Leather’s reputation as tanning innovators made the company the logical choice to co-develop a new leather material bonding Dyneema composite fabric with the rich and organic properties of premium leather.

“We wanted to make use of extreme tear-resistant strength and superlative lightweight characteristics of Dyneema fabrics without compromising our own standards for delivering on the unique inherent qualities of high quality bovine leather,” commented Panos Mytaros, ECCO Leather CEO. “We don’t release a new leather concept unless we can achieve a balance between genuine innovation and the best attributes of genuine leather making tradition. We refer to this as Leatherizing and it constitutes the defining ethos of our entire range.”

Multi-phase development sequence

The Dyneema Bonded Leather is made using a multi-phase development sequence involving pre-tanning, bonding and a careful series of interim and final-tanning stages. The first challenge was to develop a way of effectively bonding Dyneema composite fabric along the full surface of thinly skived high-grade bovine hide. The bonding process needed to maintain enough adhesion-integrity to withstand a battalion of secondary and final tanning processes. 

Achieving this bond, ECCO Leather was then able to refine the material by deploying milling, tumbling, toggling and finishing stages designed to bring out the leather’s natural qualities. The result is a unique new leather featuring a fine natural surface, blending aspects of distinctive Dyneema fabric structure with the leather’s original grain pattern.

Fabric potential

Dyneema Bonded Leather by ECCO Leather delivers on the performance expectations of Dyneema fabrics matching the tensile strength and comparable leather qualities at a fraction of the weight, the manufacturer reports.

The final material also simultaneously integrates unique haptic and visual chrematistics that give it unexpected expressive potential within the fashion sector. “Dyneema Bonded Leather by ECCO Leather is a next level material that opens up endless possibilities,” said Noud Steffens.

Sruli Recht worked within the ECCO Leather team at the time of the project’s development and shouldered the task of testing conceptual product applications designed to express the material’s mix of aesthetic and functional attributes in prototype bag and outerwear designs. “Dyneema Bonded Leather is a high-end, luxury, leather-look, futuristic material that is ultra-light with an unbreakable performance. A truly new innovation that gives designers and brands worldwide something fantastic to work with.”

www.eccoleather.com

www.dyneema.com