Greek mythology has another name in the sneaker game as Gucci announces new shoe material Demetra as well as three new sneaker lines using the fabric.

Demetra has been used to create the sneaker lines called Gucci Basket, Gucci New Ace, and Gucci Rhyton. New Ace and Rhyton are available right now in store and online, but the Basket line will begin to sell June 18 th. Gucci has stated other sneakers and products will use the
substance in the future.

Two years of research and development have brought this material to life for the Italian company. The new substance is animal free and uses plant based raw materials from sustainable forests, viscose, wood pulp and bio-based polyurethane from renewable sources. It is made in an Italian factory and will be available to other fashion companies for their own lines in 2022.

The material is named after the Greek goddess of agriculture and new harvest, an appropriate name based on the ambitions of the substance.

“In our 100th anniversary year,” Marco Bizzarri, the president and chief operating officer of Gucci said, “Demetra is a new category of material that encapsulates Gucci’s quality and aesthetic standards with our desire to innovate, leveraging our traditional skills and know-how to create for an evolving future. Demetra offers our industry an easily scalable, alternative choice and a more sustainable material that also answers the needs of animal-free solutions.”

The company claims Demetra has no limitations on volume or impediments for scalability. According to the Gucci-Up program, any leftover scraps will be upcycled and reused by the company.