Elvis & Kresse was launched to solve the problem of London’s decommissioned fire hose, hose that was too damaged to repair was going to landfill. In 2005 we fell in love with these beautiful, life saving hoses and mounted a rescue. For over a decade we have been doing just that, saving all of London’s hoses. We have transformed them into a high quality, hand-crafted collection of bags, belts and wallets. We have donated 50% of the profits from this collection to the Fire Fighters Charity. But this one material was just the beginning. Over the years we have brought many more materials back to life, and have made ongoing commitments to over 10 unique materials that previously had no hope of being reused or recycled.
Our most ambitious material challenge to date is the world’s leather waste. Each year, 800,000 tonnes of beautiful leather ends up on the cutting room floor. Our leather partners, the best of British luxury, cherish their hides and the waste they produce is in small seemingly unusable pieces. In order to rescue these fragments we developed a modular approach. We created three shapes that interlock to create whole new hides. Each shape is individually cut before we lovingly hand weave them together, piece by piece, creating a strong, beautiful and tactile new material.
Don’t worry, our commitment to rescuing British fire hoses has not changed. London’s hoses remain our constant inspiration. The trim, handles and much of the internal and external detailing of the Fire & Hide range are all made from genuine decommissioned fire-hose.
Fire & Hide is more than a collection, it represents a whole new kind of luxury.
