New collaborations and curated online store meld Finland’s most exciting designers with groundbreaking biomaterial in limited-edition drops to enable guilt free shopping.
Finnish green-tech company Brightplus is launching Nordic Design Lab, a new curated online store and collaboration platform bringing together visionary designers, experimental product concepts and Finnish biomaterial innovation. The platform debuts with an exclusive collaboration with Finnish designer Mert Otsamo.
Through limited-edition drops and creative collaborations, Nordic Design Lab explores how bio-based and circular materials can move beyond industrial applications into fashion, objects and everyday consumer products. The concept merges Nordic design with responsible material innovation and aims to create a new generation of products designed with circularity, aesthetics and functionality in mind.
The first product to launch from the collaboration is Mert Otsamo’s sculptural Cosmic Egg concept. The piece was unveiled on Friday 30 May 2026 during the OTSAMO fashion show as part of the Fashion in Helsinki week.
Commercial products inspired by Cosmic Egg will launch through the Nordic Design Lab online store during summer 2026.
“Cosmic Egg has a symbolic role in the collection. It represents birth, potential and the beginning of something new,” says Mert Otsamo.
Nordic Design Lab was created to demonstrate how material innovations can become visible and desirable through consumer products, fashion and design collaborations.
“For us, this is much more than a product launch. It’s a platform created to rethink how material innovation is experienced through culture, fashion and design,” says Milja Hannu-Kuure, CEO of Brightplus.
“We didn’t want to wait for someone else to show what these future materials could become. We wanted to build that future ourselves together with visionary designers and give experimental ideas a real path into consumer products,” Hannu-Kuure continues.
The products are developed using BrightBio®, a next-generation bio-based and circular material created by Brightplus for functional textiles and consumer applications. Developed as an alternative to conventional fossil-based coating materials, BrightBio® is PFAS-free and designed without toxic fluorinated chemicals commonly used in the textile industry.
The material combines durability, protection and aesthetic versatility while remaining compatible with existing industrial manufacturing processes. BrightBio® has been developed to support future circular textile systems, including recyclability and reduced environmental impact, without compromising performance or design possibilities.
“Working together with the Brightplus team opened a completely new creative perspective for me. When the material itself is innovative, it changes how you think about the entire product — not only aesthetically, but also emotionally and functionally.”
Nordic Design Lab will continue to introduce new designer collaborations and product launches as part of its long-term platform concept.
About Brightplus
Brightplus is a Finnish green-tech company developing biomaterial innovations through green chemistry and synthetic biology. The company’s mission is to create sustainable alternatives to conventional coating materials used across multiple industries.
Through its Innovation Brightplus develops biomaterial solutions for multiple industries, combining green chemistry and industrial innovation. Nordic Design Lab expands the company’s activities into consumer-facing concepts and design collaborations.
About Mert Otsamo
Mert Otsamo is a Finnish fashion designer known for his sculptural silhouettes, couture-inspired aesthetics and emotionally expressive design language. His work combines artistic storytelling, craftsmanship and contemporary fashion. Otsamo is currently launching his first ready-to-wear collection, drawing from years of atelier craftsmanship and reinterpreting modern wardrobe archetypes through his distinctive artistic vision. Link to Otsamo collection here.
Additional information:
Nordic Design Lab
https://nordicdesignlab.net/
Press images can be found here.
Media enquiries:
Milja Hannu-Kuure
CEO, Brightplus
+358 (0)40 064 6533
milja.hannu-kuure@brightplus.com