Dune’s Daniel Rubin launches sustainable trainer brand Lerins

Daniel Rubin, the founder of Dune, has launched Lerins, a sustainable trainer brand inspired by the unspoiled Lérins Islands off the coast of the French Riviera.

The retro-inspired court trainer gets a modern and sustainable twist in this collection, which includes 10 models for men and women and was developed in London and made in Portugal.

Lerins’ goal is to “connect the dots” between modern styling and socially and environmentally aware making practices.

Rubin is the fourth generation of his family to work in the footwear industry, and he is most known for founding the famous footwear retailer Dune, which he founded in 1992 and today has 350 locations across the world.

Rubin owned a factory in London for nearly a decade making women’s fashion shoes before founding Dune, and he also spent 20 years designing, importing, and retailing fashion footwear.

Rubin said that one thing his experience has shown him is that creating shoes is a complex business – there are well over one hundred steps in the creation of footwear. His objective is to produce shoes in a more environmentally friendly manner. Although leather is a byproduct of the food industry, it is made with a lot of water and chemicals. He was resolved to address these issues with Lerins and produce my shoes in a more environmentally and socially responsible way.

Lerins’ leather is made to a high standard at “Leather Working Group” recognized tanneries, where the raw material’s provenance is known and approved, and the use of water and chemicals is strictly regulated.

Vegea, Lerins’ Italian partner, provides vegan leather. It’s made from leftover wine grape skins, which are mixed with vegetable oils and natural fibers to create a durable, leather-like product. A leather and canvas variant is also available, with the canvas being made from recovered sea plastic. Organic cotton is used for the laces and recycled and virgin rubber is used for the soles.

The company is also a business partner of the World Land Trust organization, supporting international forestry programs, and all packaging is recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable whenever practical.