VYN raises £500k to grow “world’s first renewable sneaker” business

Swiss footwear brand VYN, billed as the makers of the “world’s first renewable sneaker” - which comes with interchangeable pieces - has raised £500k from private angel investors and Hohle Gasse AG to take its business to the “next level”.

Established in 2020 by Stefan Mathys and Catherine Meuter as a direct-to-consumer brand, AW23 saw VYN venture into wholesale for the first time, picking up UK accounts including Autograph in Birmingham, Michael Chell in Windsor and Zoo Fashions in Ilford.

The aim is to position the brand with the best retailers in the UK, Switzerland and across Europe, with a major push for SS24.

Co-Founder Mathys said: “The retailers are important partners for brand building as we are launching new men’s and women’s collections in spring next year.

“The sneakers come as ‘2-in-1’, with an extra set of laces, heel counters and heels, giving the owner two looks in one box. With the interchangeable pieces, you can not only personalise your look, but also create longevity because you can exchange the most vulnerable pieces. The heels can be renewed by the owner themselves and we are working on getting the full resoling off the ground.

“Creating a new collection is costly to us. We have the IP on our sole mould innovation, but we have to invest into tooling for sizes, which the newly raised funds will help us to do.

“We are part of the growing ‘sustainable luxury’ market and the buy less, but better, mindset, and we are building crucial partnerships with the best stores in the world - to position VYN with the best brands out there. By the end of 2024 we will have more than 35 retail partners that sell VYN to their high-end clientele.

“With these partnerships we will build exclusive collaboration drops for each store, where they will be able to choose specific detailing on the renewable parts of our trainers. Each partner will eventually be able to customise and design their own details for each pair.”

Priced at £435, VYN currently has four colour options in the heel counters and five colours in the heels, as well as six main sneaker colours; tan, navy, bordeaux, military green, ‘greige’ and off white.

For SS24 collection there are two new design silhouettes besides the sneaker, and  buyers will be able to view the latest men’s and women’s offer at Les Salon Hoche in Paris on 19-24 January 2024, alongside 20 other luxury brands across menswear, womenswear, accessories and jewellery.