LUXTRA is building an exciting global fashion brand focused on timeless design, sustainability and ethical core values. The brand uses innovative and cruelty-free materials to craft beautiful products that are handmade in Italy.
Founder Jessica Kruger comes from a barefooted, nature-filled childhood in Sydney and over the past decade has lived across Europe. She has crafted LUXTRA to be the brand she needs for her everyday: ever-ready for travel, functional, environmentally forward thinking, and above all… chic.
With LUXTRA, Jessica hopes to lead positive change within the fashion industry by showing what can be done with the most cutting-edge eco materials on the market. She is determined in the belief that doing business responsibly is the only way to do business.
Earlier in her career, Jessica created one of London's favourite meat-free restaurants - ETHOS - for which she was named by Management Today as one of their "35 under 35" top UK businesswomen. She now speaks at schools and conferences on the topics of women in business, entrepreneurship, mental health and wellbeing; all issues close to her heart.
Luxtra's mission is to lead and inspire positive change in the fashion industry.
Jessica believes in using cruelty-free materials, methods of production and distribution to break the fashion industry's harmful habits.
Luxtra was awarded second place in the 2019 Sustainable Lifestyle Awards.
A great achievement in their first year of business.
MATERIALS
LUXTRA is proud to be amongst the first brands working with the most innovative and sustainable materials on the market.
They use Piñatex®, an innovative non-woven textile made from pineapple leaf fibres, and 'Frumat', a bio-based leather alternative made partly from apples.
Luxtra is always on the lookout for what's next in sustainable textiles. They are currently working with Hugo and Koen, founders of Fruit Leather Rotterdam, to develop new products using their innovative materials, which are made almost entirely from discarded fruit.
Alas, many cutting-edge materials are still in their infancy and therefore not yet available to businesses like LUXTRA.
By 2021 they hope to start working with textiles from Mango Materials in the US - who produce fully biodegradable bio-polyester fibres - and many other companies like them.
By championing the use of cutting-edge vegan and highly sustainable materials, and making them in to seriously beautiful pieces, Luxtra hopes to inspire the greater fashion industry to reassess the materials currently used.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
They design timeless classics and do not abide to the Spring/Summer, Pre-Fall, Autumn/Winter, Cruise-Collection [and repeat] fashion cycle.
They eschew the vicious cycle of overproduction that is then inevitably followed by discounting and clearance sales that is so prevalent.
MANUFACTURING
Every LUXTRA item is made by Cristian SRL in Pontassieve, a pretty town just outside Florence in Italy. They visit often and are very fond of Paolo, Natascia and Matteo (below) who own and run the company.
They selected Cristian because their overarching philosophy chimed with Luxtra's on many levels. They are excellent craftspeople and of course, being Italian, they appreciate beautiful products. The staff work regular hours and overtime is paid. Cristian SRL are also enthusiastic about LUXTRA's environmental approach and their dedication towards improving their own environmental footprint is impressive.
Cristian SRL are also located in close proximity to other key suppliers, such as Mabel SRL who produce for Frumat. All of which helps to keep the carbon footprint down.
Luxtra works tirelessly to find the most sustainable materials and is among the first in the world to launch a collection made from Fruit-Leather.
This groundbreaking material is made from discarded fruits, mainly mangoes. Fruitleather Rotterdam from the Netherlands created by Koen Meerkerk and Hugo de Boon are a Rotterdam based designer duo, graduated from the Willem de Kooning academy in Rotterdam.
With a passion for creating value to things which have been labelled useless, the duo has placed themselves in today's circular economy. Facing and solving problems from a designer point of view. With a bachelor's degree in spatial design, the two young designers have placed their focus on the development of materials.
They moved into their new workplace in Bluecity where they work together with other circular businesses towards a zero waste economy.
The vision here at Fruitleather Rotterdam is not only to spread awareness of the food waste issue, but also to show how waste in general can be used in a positive way.
