With the growth of environmental concerns around the use of leather, it comes as no surprise that most of the brands are coming forward to look towards more options that are sustainable. And, with the rise of vegan alternatives, many are still seen to have contained at least a small amount of synthetic materials.
This is the very reason why Bea Recorder, the bag designer who previously has worked at Balenciaga’s likes, Paco Rabanne and Chloe made their decision to make the upcycled leather that are the basis of her very own brand that is named Reco. The designer from her studio in Paris tells Vogue that for the past 10 years she has been working in the luxury fashion industry and during this time when she visited the factories, she realized the amount of deadstock that was just there, sitting (Source: Vogue).
Furthermore, while making use of up-cycled leather wasn’t a brainer, working out on the use of leftover pieces that were sourced from tanneries was considered a creative challenge that was relished by Reco. It was explained by the designer that when you are using the limited material, it is important to make the most of it and so she decided that she as a technique will use patchwork, cutting the leather into small pieces in a way of the puzzle so that they could later be used (Source: Vogue).
Currently, the offering of Reco is contained with three main styles: Piti shoulder bag, the signature Didi, and the Rombo clutch, and a cute fact is that all the styles are named after the siblings of the designer. While each design comes with a wide range of colors that depends on whatever leftover leathers at that time are available.
It comes as no doubt that Reco’s one of major appeals is the limited amounts that are produced, which adds the sense of exclusivity. The special part of the bags is that if the designer doesn’t find the same leather, she can never produce the same bag again (Source: Vogue). “There are a few pieces where between 10 to 30 [have been produced]. Each piece is handcrafted – that’s luxury to me.” (Source: Vogue).
