Leather news and archive

Leather as upcycled waste: A discussion about leather and sustainability

‌In many towns, there is still a tanner’s street, a tanner’s path or a tanner’s alley. But the tanning trade itself has long disappeared from most cities. And with it a lot of knowledge and understanding about how leather is made. But this knowledge would be important to better understand the image problem that leather and leather shoes have...

Schools

New leather goods school to open in Haute-Loire, France

Brives-Charensac, a town in the south-central Haute-Loire region in France, is to be the site of a school of excellence in leather goods. According to the local media outlet L'Éveil de la Haute-Loire, in October elected representatives approved a feasibility study for the future school to be located in the Le Puy-en-Velay area. According to...

NewsFeatured

Student design competition takes leather from the Real World to the Virtual Realm

The Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition has collaborated with the Institute of Digital Fashion (IoDF) to introduce a digital wearable experience for the winning design, 'WHIM.' Partnering with Snapchat, the augmented reality (AR) try-on allows users to engage with the design, blending the rich history of...

Fashion Featured

Two companies are breathing new life into leather waste

Design studio INK has partnered with Gen Phoenix, a leading producer of sustainable recycled leather, to offer an exclusive glimpse into the creation of their innovative and eco-friendly leather. Using a tactile animated approach featuring supple and robust CG fibers, INK showcases the possibility of a sustainable and high-end lifestyle. Founded...

Podcast

Podcast: Understanding leather's supply chain

Many will be familiar with the 'Who made your clothes?' campaign. The campaign focuses on bringing attention to the conditions in which clothes are made. With the focus on clothing, leather is still sometimes overlooked. How is leather made and how can it be made as locally as possible and with the least possible harm? Eigendom: Wardrobe Crisis...

Fashion

Apple to stop using leather for its accessories

Apple’s annual event, which took place on the penultimate day of New York Fashion Week, had a surprise announcement. The tech giant said it would ban the use of leather for all its accessories, including watch straps and mobile phone cases. In an effort to meet its net zero emissions goal by 2030, Apple unveiled a new textile called FineWoven, a...

Fashion Featured

The airline-tested technology behind Coachtopia's sold-out sustainable accessories

Last spring heritage luxury brand Coach unveiled Coachtopia, a sub-brand with a Gen Z focus conceived with circularity inbuilt, and the range has already sold out multiple times. Each product uses virtually no new materials, is designed to be remade or repaired to expand its lifespan, and contains an NFC chip which acts like a passport informing...

Fashion Featured

Call to action for brands to source leather from deforestation-free supply chains

Textile Exchange and Leather Working Group, both global non-profit organisations, have jointly launched the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather, aiming to foster equitable, transparent, and deforestation-free leather supply chains. Cattle rearing, a primary driver of deforestation and ecosystem conversion, presents an opportunity for...

Fashion Featured

Quiet Luxury bag brand Gladstn London launches in the US

A current best-seller in Harrods since it launched there a year ago, Gladstn London is coming to the US. The range of bags created in fine Italian leather began as a menswear range but now boasts styles that are considered “shareable” according to owner and CEO (or Chief Bag Carrier as he prefers), Richard Sharman, who sits down with...

Fashion

Item of the week: the leather coat

What it is: The trench coat is a popular staple coat silhouette that has transcended seasons and time periods to still be relevant in the modern day. However, it has seen an update for the coming autumn/winter 2023 season in the form of a material adaptation – particularly with the use of leather or leather alternatives. Many a designer took on...

Fashion Featured

FW23 ready-to-wear runway trends: black leather, head-to-toe

During the twentieth century wearing black leather came to symbolize both youthful rebellion and overt sex appeal. The cult of the black leather jacket The black leather jacket shot to fame in 1953 when Marlon Brando wore one in the ‘The Wild One,’ a film about motorbike gangs. The same jacket re-emerged in the 1970s as a punk favorite. The sex...

Business

Citizen joins the Leather Working Group

Watchmaker Citizen has become a member of the Leather Working Group (LWG) to promote the use of sustainable leather. LWG is an international non-profit organisation comprised of tanneries, traders, suppliers, technical experts, as well as brands and retailers. The group is dedicated to conserving the natural environment and providing consumers...