Craig Green, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi and Ottolinger Join ECCO.kollektive

What do Craig Green, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, and Ottolinger have in common? Aside from being some of the most exciting names in fashion, the trio have been plucked by ECCO.kollektive as their latest guest designers. That’s right, for S/S 25 (the fifth season of the collaborative platform) the designers will present their unique take on leather innovation, utilising ECCO’s famed tanneries.

Formerly At.Kollective, the radical concept might have been renamed but the mission to push the boundaries of leather remains the same. Launched in 2022 by ECCO, the platform is a means of propelling the brand’s heritage leather manufacturers into the future with the help of today’s top talents. Previously it was Peter Do, Laura and Deanna Fanning of Kiko Kostadinov, and Nina Christen tasked with reimagining how we engage with leather in fashion.

‘Innovation, collaboration, and material excellence are always at the heart of everything we do at ECCO,’ explains CEO Panos Mytaros. ‘As ECCO.kollektive continues to grow and evolve, we are excited to welcome the incredibly talented Craig Green, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, and Ottolinger into our family of collaborators to create a collection which blends our shared vision and expertise.’

The collaboration will see the designer push themselves our of their comfort jones by experimenting with sustainable tanning methods, incorporating high-tech treatments, and exploring unconventional textures and finishes. Spanning shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear, the collection bridges craft, heritage, and innovation, solidifying leather's status as one of fashion's most enduring and versatile materials.

Craig Green, known for his utilitarian and avant-garde aesthetic, has long been revered for his workwear-influenced collections. Last summer the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary by releasing a lookbook for A/W 23 and S/S 24 together. Following that, Green was appointed as a design professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, to shape the next generation of fashion designers. For ECCO.kollektive we wouldn’t be surprised to see his signatures, including his Worker jacket, rendered in leather.

As far as signatures go, Parisian brand LGN Louis-Gabriel Nouchi is sure to imbue his ECCO.kollektive collection with razor-sharp silhouettes. A master tailor at his core, Nouchi’s sleek, architectural silhouettes landed him the 2023 Andam Prize, securing his status as one of menswear’s most exciting designers. Nouchi has already proven his capabilities of working with ECCO Leather, presenting a series of leather pieces as part of his S/S 24 collection, ‘A Single Man’.

Meanwhile, Ottolinger, celebrated for their deconstructed and rebellious style, may experiment with distressed and reimagined leather techniques, blending artisanal craftsmanship with futuristic flair. This synergy between ECCO’s innovative leather technologies and the designers' creative visions is set to redefine leather’s role in contemporary fashion, making it more sustainable, versatile, and forward-thinking.

The S/S 25 ECCO.kollektive collection is expected to drop from November.