Description

2022 & 2023 · CMF Senior Designer

RANRA, the Nordic-born, London-based label founded by Arnar Már Jónsson and Luke Stevens, entered footwear for the first time in 2022 with Salomon. Salomon stepped back and let the label lead the design direction: a Cross Pro built almost entirely from natural materials, dyed with plants, and assembled with exposed stitching in place of adhesives.

I joined the project as CMF Senior Designer, responsible for translating that direction into a specification that could be produced at volume. Cork, leather, eco-friendly rubber and Ventile cotton canvas each had to satisfy Salomon's construction and durability standards without compromising the original intent. The material set was resolved with the developer and the product designer over successive rounds of sampling.

Colour carried the greater risk. The first two colourways were tinted with Icelandic Elftingar ferns hand-picked at Urriðavatn lake, and natural dye does not behave like pigment — it shifts with the batch, the substrate and the season. I developed, presented and readapted the colourways until production output matched the approved standard.

The following spring both brands returned to the same model with higher sustainability targets: natural dyes only, adhesives reduced further, cotton ripstop uppers. The colour brief was more demanding — brightness to match the energy of the 2023 collection, achieved without synthetic dye. The season was released in Cathay Spice / Kelp / Bright Lime Green and Turmeric / Blazing Orange / Scarlet Ibis.