Avient announces Dyneema® Bonded Leather for new PORTER Freestyle line luxury bags

From today on, the longstanding Japanese bag-maker YOSHIDA & Co. uses this paper-thin material, with the appealing and luxurious look of leather, in its 85 anniversary commemorative model of PORTER Freestyle line which will be formally launched on July 29. Normally, leather this thin, would be weak. It would tear with little pressure and would lose its shape.

The Freestyle line initially launched in 2004 uses an originally developed leather-like material. To celebrate YOSHIDA’s 85-year anniversary, Avient Protective Materials contributed by providing the modern state-of-the-art technology, light and strong real leather Dyneema® Bonded Leather.

“We are so proud that Dyneema® is selected for such a long-established bag maker’s commemorative model in Japan. “Dyneema® is fifteen times stronger than steel, yet light enough to float on water. The intrinsic properties of Dyneema® allow us to  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.” says Marcio Manique, Global Business Director, Consumer & Professional Protection.

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

“We wanted to make use of the 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,” says Panos Mytaros, ECCO Leather CEO. 

The secret of Dyneema® Bonded Leather is rooted in 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® 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 leather featuring a fine natural surface character blending aspects of distinctive Dyneema® fabric structure with the leather’s original grain pattern. 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 final material also simultaneously integrates unique haptic and visual characteristics that give it unexpected expressive potential within the fashion sector, while still being relevant for highly functional performance-based applications. “Dyneema® Bonded Leather by ECCO Leather is a next level material that opens up endless possibilities.” states Manique.

Hiroyuki Okada, Communications at YOSHIDA and Co. commented. “We are very much pleased that we could collaborate with ECCO Leather and Avient for our 85-year anniversary PORTER Freestyle line model. 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 us something fantastic to work with.”