Luxury fashion conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton plans to build a new research centre in Saclay, France by the end of 2024 or mid-2025. Unlike LVMH’s other research centres, this new centre will be focusing on new materials, bio-technologies and digital data solutions, with sustainability as its main goal.

“We want the research and development center to be extremely product and solutions-driven,” LVMH Chief Strategy Officer Jean Baptiste Voisin told WWD. “Getting rid of plastics is at the core,” he added.

The centre will house 1,000 employees, including 400 workers at an R&D centre for perfumes and cosmetics. The rest will spread across the group’s various brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Dior.