Australian footwear brand Rollie Nation has launched a new capsule range designed with cactus vegan leather.
The range includes five different styles in brown, green and black colourways, with an RRP between $159.95 and $249.95.
The cactus leather material, called Desserto, was developed from biomaterials of prickly pear by Mexican-based farmers Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez.
Speaking with Ragtrader, Rollie Nation founder Vince Lebon said he and his team are committed to sourcing sustainable materials each season.
“Previously we worked with Piñatex, an innovative material made from pineapple fibre,” Lebon said. “Desserto came onto my radar through industry news and articles and so we reached out and began sampling with their cactus leather.”
Lebon said Desserto cactus leather has high resistance to abrasion, rubbing, and tearing, and called it a better alternative to animal leather and synthetic materials. It is also partially biodegradable.
“Although animal leather is very resistant, it is permeable and can even rot or crack if not dried quickly after it gets wet,” Lebon said. “Desserto has competitive features handling humidity and liquids very well, it’s fully customisable and breathable.
“There isn’t much of a price difference, but we chose to use it because it’s a premium and innovative material.”
Among the upsides, Lebon said the only challenge with the material is longer lead times.
“Our lead times for cactus leather were a little longer than standard leather because the leathers we chose for this collection came from Italy, so it took a little longer to get it to our factory to begin production.”
Looking ahead, Lebon said it will continue to roll out this new material online and through its 400 stockists nationwide. The brand is also sold via The Iconic and The Dom.
He said Rollie Nation is always seeking alternative materials, particularly ones that are sustainable, biodegradable and durable.
“We're dedicated to continuously innovate through materials and technology to give our customers the most comfortable experience, so I'm always exploring new ways to do this,” Lebon said. “We’re currently in the early stages of working with Australia’s first 100% biobased leather made from plants - it's not currently in the market so we're keeping the details close for now.”
Rollie Nation is also currently working on a “top-secret” project with an Australian biomechanics lab to be announced soon.
“Our new designs pay respect to the Derby silhouette that Rollie is known for, but with innovations in the outsoles and our new sneaker designs bring a mix of innovation, comfort and fashion for the customer who wants their style choices to work harder for them.”