On June 9, French luxury maison Chanel announced the launch of “NEVOLD,” a new independent organization dedicated to promoting circularity within the fashion and luxury sectors. NEVOLD is a B2B platform focused on the regeneration and innovation of natural textiles and leather materials.
The name NEVOLD derives from “Never Old,” reflecting its mission to become a central pillar of Chanel’s sustainability strategy. The platform aims to develop and commercialize high-quality, innovative materials that incorporate recycled fibers, offering long-term solutions to the growing scarcity of high-quality, traceable natural raw materials in the fashion industry through collective collaboration.
Leading NEVOLD is Sophie Brocart, former CEO of LVMH-owned Patou, who joined Chanel in January 2025. Chanel has praised Brocart, who also has an engineering background, for her “expertise and pioneering approach to sustainable innovation.”
Functioning as an independent structure initiated by Chanel, NEVOLD focuses specifically on the challenges of circularity related to key natural textiles and leather materials. It aims to accelerate large-scale solutions for the recycling, development, and commercialization of next-generation materials across the fashion, luxury, textile, and leather industries, in close partnership with both industrial and academic institutions.
The platform is already forming an ecosystem of startups and companies offering practical solutions in the circularity space. Three key players have joined so far:
- L’Atelier des Matières, a Chanel-founded company that supports recycling initiatives
- Filatures du Parc, a French spinning mill known for its recycled yarns
- Authentic Material, a company specializing in recycled leather
NEVOLD is also working with leading academic institutions such as the University of Cambridge and Politecnico di Milano, strengthening its commitment to industry-academia collaboration.
At its core, NEVOLD is not merely about recycling—it is about rethinking the entire product lifecycle. Chanel has already applied recycled yarns in its tweeds and uses repurposed leather for structural components in bags and shoes. For instance, the heel of its iconic slingback pumps now incorporates recycled material instead of traditional plastic.
In an interview with Vogue Business, Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel’s Fashion Division, explained, “We started by asking ourselves what happens to the materials that don’t make it into a final product, or those that reach the end of their first life. At Chanel, we didn’t destroy unsold products. But we also didn’t yet have a real system to understand their full potential. Nevold is that system.”
He added, “It’s not about saying 50% of our materials will be recycled tomorrow. What’s mandatory at Chanel is to create a dream. Nevold gives us the ability to continue doing that, because if we don’t try now, we’ll never be ready for what comes next.”
As a redefinition of circular models within the luxury market, NEVOLD’s initiative has the potential to go beyond corporate strategy and serve as a catalyst for transformation across the entire industry.
Similar efforts can be seen at other brands. Gucci, for instance, launched its Circular Hub in Italy in 2023 to explore new ways of reusing materials and redesigning product structures in collaboration with partners, as part of its roadmap toward a circular economy. Meanwhile, Coach’s experimental line, Coachtopia, incorporates recycled materials and is built around a “design for circularity” model from the very beginning of the design process—an approach that has resonated well with conscious consumers.
NEVOLD, alongside these pioneering initiatives, stands as a symbol of next-generation material innovation and a shifting value system within the luxury fashion industry.
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