Desa Launches Nuera to Commercialize Gozen’s Lunaform

By Tom Whitfield

Publicly listed Turkish leather manufacturer Desa, described as the country’s leading leather maker, launched wholly owned subsidiary Nuera, which has secured its first commercial orders from Kering for the S|Style 2026 Wardrobe Edition at Milan Fashion Week.

Nuera holds exclusive global rights to produce and commercialize Gozen’s Lunaform biomaterial, an alternative to animal leather, under a long-term licensing agreement. The venture combines Gozen’s Lunaform and proprietary BioCraft technology with Desa’s leather-processing, finishing and product-manufacturing capabilities, creating one operation from biofabrication through finished goods.

The launch follows a period in which material technology has outpaced commercial adoption. Çelet called credibility the biggest problem facing next-generation materials, noting that several promising companies had gone under after failing to scale. He claimed that many valuable innovations had emerged without any product fully making the leap from laboratory work to industrial mass production.

His evaluation of competing technologies over five years tested sustainability credentials alongside physical performance, financial and manufacturing requirements. Çelet identified compatibility with conventional tannery processes as Lunaform’s decisive advantage, supported by Desa’s more than 50 years of manufacturing experience.

The Kering orders cover designs by Lorenzo Seghezzi and Ayham Hassan:

• Seghezzi used Lunaform for a structured corset and pleated tutu.
• Hassan used it for a softer, translucent design.

The announcement does not disclose order quantities, unit prices, revenue or licensing royalties. Procurement teams therefore cannot yet benchmark Nuera against conventional leather or petroleum-based alternatives. It also provides no production capacity, certification timetable, delivery-performance data or independent benchmark.

Nuera is developing products with an additional 16 clients across luxury fashion and automotive. That represents active development, not 16 confirmed adoptions or repeat orders. Nuera’s stated focus under Gozën prioritizes long-term brand relationships, customer confidence and repeat purchasing rather than immediate capacity expansion.

Gozen CEO Ece Gozën said: “Just sending new materials to designers is not enough to create a great business success. Brands want support from customization to finished product.”

Before launch, Çelet and Gozën spent nearly a year meeting brands. Their requirement list included bespoke colors, textures and finishes, technical support and rapid development. Çelet said material supply alone would not suffice; Nuera also had to teach clients how to use it and meet commercial KPIs rather than rely on a sustainability label.

What does this change for brands and suppliers?

For brands, the immediate change is access to customized biomaterial development without minimum order quantities. Nuera intends to feed those projects back into its commercial material range. Brands can also commission finished products at Desa facilities in Turkey and Italy, reducing the number of suppliers they must coordinate.

For suppliers, Lunaform’s plug-and-play compatibility with conventional tannery machinery could let other established manufacturers enter the category without significant capital outlay. The claim remains commercial, not proven at volume: the announcement gives no cost data, capacity plan or certification timetable. A seven-day growth claim for Lunaform also does not equal a seven-day bulk delivery; tanning, finishing, manufacturing and logistics still require their own lead times.

Nuera presents biomaterials as a way for traditional tanneries to adapt and diversify. Çelet framed the venture as insurance against pressure on animal-hide supply. Leather is a byproduct of meat production, so shifts in meat consumption and alternative-protein adoption could eventually constrain skin availability.

Tighter environmental requirements and changing demand are also encouraging manufacturers to reassess their material dependence. Çelet predicted that global leather supply would shrink within the foreseeable future. Raising cattle takes at least one year, he said, while Lunaform can be grown within seven days.

He presented that comparison as a sustainability and future-proofing argument, alongside his warning that the industry should prepare for structural change before it becomes immediate commercial pressure. Nuera’s longer-term ambition extends beyond luxury, its initial proving ground, to competition with petroleum-based polyurethane alternatives.

As production scales, the company aims to reduce Lunaform costs to parity with petroleum-based materials while meeting brand performance standards. Çelet stated the sequence plainly: “First performance, then price.”

Additional commercial adoption announcements are expected in 2027. The decisive test is whether Kering and the 16 development clients convert trials into repeat orders at disclosed volumes, costs and lead times. Until then, the commercial evidence remains thin.