The Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition returns for 2026 and the sixth chapter of our global search for bold, future-facing design talent.
This is your opportunity to design with real leather, challenge the fast fashion cycle and showcase your work on an international stage. Previous finalists have presented their work in London, Milan and Taipei, with each year opening new doors for the designers involved.
Have you got what it takes to stand out globally and shape the future of fashion?
Sign ups are open now. Head to rlsd.internationaldesigncomp.com to register and submit your entry.
Korean artist Kwangho Lee has taken over Bottega Veneta's Via Sant'Andrea store in Milan with an installation created during Design Week. Titled Lightful, the work sees twisting cords of the house's signature fettucce leather, in bespoke green and black,
Leather is having its most confident summer yet. From the catwalks of Milan and Paris to the sun-drenched terraces of Ibiza, the material that once retreated the moment temperatures rose is now starring in the warmest months of the
The RLSD Brazil Student Design Competition is in full swing, with university events taking place across the country and the award ceremony set for July 15th in São Paulo. The RLSD team recently made three university visits and three online calls, connecting
Last year’s winners have been announced following an inspiring final event in Taipei – you can explore their designs and stories on our competition pages.
Planning to take part this year? 2026 competitions are now open, start shaping your ideas now. We can’t wait to see what you’ll create next!
From the Great Plains in the North to the grazing fields of the South, US hides make premium leather that is coveted in across the world.
More than five million people work in the global leather industry delivering natural, organic, sustainable, recyclable – and incredibly durable – material for the seats in cars and on planes, bags on our shoulders, jackets on our backs and shoes on our feet. At its heart sits the Leather & Hide Council of America, the national voice of an industry recognised for the quality of its hides, and the integrity of its supply chain. Its work helps its members divert around 30 million hides from landfill every year, by creating beautiful leathers for supply to customers in a 450-billion-dollar global sector.
US hides are prized for their quality and also for their sustainability. Ongoing investment in supply chain optimisation and traceability has made them the first choice for sectors from automative and aviation to fashion and footwear. This is the story of the world’s leading leather-producing nation.
The buzz around this year’s Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition is growing by the day. We’ve already been inspired by the incredible entries coming in from students and recent graduates around the world. But the
Bell Quintão is not a brand built on hype. There are no seasonal surges, no trend-chasing, no mass production runs. Instead, working independently from her studio, Brazilian-born designer Bell Quintão produces small-batch, one-off leather pieces designed to
When it comes to animal print, you’d be forgiven for thinking that leopard is the fashion set’s only chosen choice of motif - but not in 2026. In fact, while those distinctive spots are undoubtedly having a moment once again, it’s the more unexpected
Born and raised in Walsall, the historic centre of the British leather trade, it’s no wonder that Lauren Broxton thinks that leather working is in her blood. “It was inevitable really,” she says. “I grew up here – you can’t walk around the
India’s design culture has always been shaped by the craftsmanship of hands that understand material, form and function. Valued for its strength, adaptability and longevity and used to make everything from footwear and accessories to everyday objects,
Aside from quilted lambskin, interlocking ‘CC’s and the camellia flower, there’s not much more synonymous with Chanel than black toe caps on classic cream leather - most famously a feature of Coco Chanel’s favourite slingback pumps, launched in
When it comes to leather jackets, any honest fashion expert will tell you that there’s rarely any reinvention involved. Rather, it’s about circulating classics (in new and interesting ways, if you can). In recent times, we’ve seen funnel neck
A groundbreaking laboratory study has found that fashion’s pivot to recycled polyester may be doing more environmental harm than good. Research published by the Changing Markets Foundation reveals that recycled polyester creates significantly more
