The winner of the 10th edition of the Craft the Leather contest comes from New York. The project, promoted by Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale, involves international design schools and aims to foster innovation and artisanal production. Of the 8 participants this year, Balbina Brunell (in photo), from the Parsons School of Fashion in New York, triumphed. Her “An Analogy of Tarnished Culture” collection (on the left in photo) gave her the win. The collections were judged by a panel of technicians as well as visitors present at Lineapelle 103 (which showcased the collections created), but it was also possible to vote the collections online on the Consortium’s social media channels.
Here is who won
After participating in the workshop set by the Consortium, Balbina Brunell presented a capsule collection made of three accessories. To make them, she was inspired by the physical reaction between iron and tannins contained in vegetable-tanned leather, combined with the industrial style of her hometown (Monterrey, Mexico). Her collection “explores and transfers traditional cultural expressions through the study of sculpture-like shapes on handbags and other accessories. “Special mention” goes to the ““Wearing Etiquette” collection by Shiyu Gong, student at the London College of Fashion.
Tenth edition
Craft The Leather is an educational program created by Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale with the goal of “spreading the material’s quality and potential” according to a long-standing tradition of high ethical and environmental standards. Participation is by invitation only and is dedicated to a selected group of young designers from all over the world. “We have a waiting list of schools wanting to join the program – explained professor Diane Ellen Becker -. This year we tried to widen the participants’ pool to new schools, such as the Estonian Academy of Arts and Iceland University of the Arts. That’s because we wish to enrich the program with new points of view and contributors giving us surprising inputs”.
Previous participants
There are many success stories from the previous participants of Craft the Leather. “One young student who participated in 2019 now works for a prototyping laboratory of a high-end enterprise – says the Consortium -. Winner of another past edition, Kira Goodey, develops shoes for brand Iris Van Herpen. Another works for Dolce & Gabbana, while a Korean winner of a past edition in 2014 (Junsu Kim, from a jewelry laboratory), became attached to leather: he was last year among the finalists of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, where he presented a leather vase”.
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