Zoë Detrez

Zoë Detrez designs and manufactures all products herself from her studio in Rotterdam. The materials she uses are also sourced from local suppliers. The leather, for instance, comes from Belgium and Italy.

For the jewellery collection, Zoë uses recycled silver and fair trade gold. This way, the designer can be sure that the metals do not come from mining. Want to know more about the impact of mining and ethically sourced metals? Read the COSH! guide to fair jewellery here.

The jewellery is made in gold and silver. The brand works exclusively with metals from European suppliers, who have quality certificates. Moreover, the silver is largely recycled, and the gold has a fair trade certificate.

The handbag collection is made of vegetal-tanned cow leather. This means that no harmful chemicals such as chromium were used in the tanning process. In addition, the leather comes from European producers that comply with the strict environmental legislation of the European Union. Unfortunately, the leather industry is not transparent, making it almost impossible to find out exactly where the leather came from or was processed.

Find out more about the pros and cons of the leather industry here.

Pure materials are at the heart of Zoë Detrez’s designs. Metals such as gold and silver are circular because they always retain their value, and can therefore be remelted repeatedly. This is why Zoë uses recycled silver; moreover, she also remelts metals herself when needed.

The handbags are also designed according to circular principles. The bags are made from vegetal-tanned leather, without any other materials such as a lining. This makes the bags not only easier to recycle after use, but also easy to repair if needed.

Zoë Detrez has a short supply chain as she makes everything herself in Rotterdam! She works with suppliers from the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium. This way, you can be sure that your purchase does not have to travel a long distance!

The bag collection is made of vegetal-tanned cow leather. For this, Zoë works with production partners in Belgium and Italy. This ensures that the producers must comply with the strict labour and environmental laws of the European Union, but unfortunately says nothing about animal welfare. In the leather industry, there is unfortunately little transparency, making it impossible for small brands like Zoë Detrez to completely trace the origin of the leather.

Zoë Detrez is also exploring possibilities to launch a vegan handbag in the future. In order to do this with sustainable and high-quality materials, the designer is researching different vegan leather alternatives.

Zoë Detrez designs her collections according to the slow-fashion philosophy. The brand does not release collections, but chooses to launch new designs throughout the year. The designs are timeless, seasonless and genderless. This way, Zoë Detrez wants to make her jewellery and handbags accessible to everyone.

The artisanal production process ensures that each product is unique. Zoë always produces in small runs or made-to-order. This means that the product is only made after the order is placed. In this way, the brand ensures it does not create overstock.

Both the jewellery and handbags follow Zoë Detrez’s recognisable design style. The designs are minimalist playing with clean geometric shapes. Thanks to the sleek shapes, the materials are being highlighted. In both the bags and jewellery, the materials are used in their pure, natural uniqueness.

Thanks to small-scale production, Zoë Detrez is fairly transparent about her work. The designs are handmade in the Rotterdam studio. The designer also shares some information on the origin of the materials on request.

Unfortunately, however, the website is not very comprehensive and thus could be improved in terms of transparency. Besides, it is very difficult for a smaller label like Zoë Detrez to find out information about the leather, due to lack of traceability in the sector.