Craft the Leather is a project organized and financed by Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale (Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather Consortium). Ten students, from international fashion and design institutes of excellence, participated in Craft The Leather 2018:
- Kaori Sugisawa – Bunka Fashion College – Japan
- Margaux Lavevre – Central Saint Martins – UK
- Xi Zhe Yu – China Academy of Art – China
- Roger Cos Mira – ELISAVA Barcelona School of Design and Engineering – Spain
- Saumya Sharma – Fashion Institute of Technology – USA
- Honoka Yamanaka – Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry – Japan
- Crystalyn Brennan – Pratt Institute Brooklyn Fashion & Design Accelerator – USA
- Yuna Shin – Rhode Island School of Design – USA
- Alice Robinson – Royal College of Art – UK
- Stina Randestad – Swedish School of Textiles – Sweden
Each student designed and made an original collection of personal accessories in Tuscan veg-tanned leather, all of high quality for content and manufacturing, which were displayed at Lineapelle in Milan from February 20th to 22nd, 2019.
Lineapelle is one of the most important international leather fairs and this edition of the trade show was visited by over 20.000 professionals. The stand of Craft the Leather at Hall 15 achieved resounding success and received gratifying feedback by designers, manufacturers, and press on the quality of the exhibited prototypes, with thousands of visitors who stopped by to view and photograph the collections. This result is confirmed by over 1,100 ballots cast by the professional community visiting the fair.
The collections in competition were voted by a Panel of Experts, by the visitors at the fair and online by the consortium’s followers.
The panel of experts who formed the jury were:
- Antonella Bertagnin – Creative director and “Trend Selection” coordinator at Lineapelle, she is today considered to be one of the foremost and most trusted Italian trendsetters in the field of footwear and leather goods
- Roberta Bindi – Editor in Charge of COLLEZIONI. Distributed in over 54 countries, the Collezioni group is the undisputed leader in the fashion magazine sector, at the service of trade operators, opinion leaders and anyone with a passion for images and creativity.
- Marco Marchetti – Studio 44, design and product research studio
- Liza Snook – Shoe collector, founder of the Virtual Shoe Museum (the online museum – a renowned platform for shoe designers and shoe lovers) and curator of exhibitions and events all over the world. Besides the exhibitions, she scouts talent, helps designers to promote their work, judges at design colleges and works as image researcher for international publishers.
- Sue Saunders – a doyenne of Footwear Education and Specialist Footwear Tutor
The five criteria for the Jury:
- Design inspired by qualities intrinsic to Veg-Tan Leather
- Innovative use of Veg-Tan Leather
- Excellent Aesthetics
- Craftsmanship
- Story telling of the Collection/ Does the Collection engage?
The weighted average of the three ballots, in which the jury vote had a higher percentage than the popular votes, produced the following final ranking:
- Stina Randestad – Swedish School of Textiles
- Xi Zhe Yu – China Academy of Art
- Roger Cos Mira – ELISAVA Barcelona School of Design and Engineering
The winner of the seventh edition of Craft the Leather is Stina Randestad from Swedish School of Textiles for her collection “Flatpack”.
The Special Prize of the Jury Panel has been assigned to Xi Zhe Yu of the China Academy of Art for her collection “Shuowen – Zaowu”. Designers who did not make the top 3 were also rewarded by industry contacts for special collaborations and by visitors at Lineapelle.
The words of the winner, Stina: “WOW! What a wonderful experience this has been! I feel very honoured to receive the first price, since there were so many talented and hard working designers this year. I had the opportunity to see all the works for myself when visiting Lineapelle and I was truly impressed. Thank you Craft The Leather for making such a huge job helping young unestablished designers learn a new craft and showcase the result worldwide! “