The Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition celebrates the beauty, sustainability and versatility of leather, while recognizing the innovation and craftsmanship that the new generation has to offer.
With annual student design competitions running in Italy, China, UK and Taiwan, we have already received over 1,000 design submissions in categories spanning Garments, Footwear, Accessories and Design. You’ll find anything from updates and winning entries, to interviews with students and judges, right here!
The 2020 Taiwan Student Design Competition was a huge success category winners announced at an award ceremony and product demonstration at Taipei 101, the well-known 500 metre super-skyscraper in Taiwan.
In 2021, we go truly international with an open invitation competition that runs alongside the national programmes, and connects students from all over the world with an outstanding, money-can’t-buy prize.
Sign up to our newsletter or keep checking back for more info and to find out how you can enter!
Competition finalists have visited three of this year's leather sponsors — ISA TanTec, Simona Tanning, and Prime Asia Tannery — to gain insight into the craftsmanship and technology that go into every hide before it ever reaches a design table.
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TAIPEI, May 12, 2026 – The 2026 "Real Leather. Stay Different." (RLSD) Student Design Competition in Taiwan has officially announced its shortlist, naming 20 finalists who represent the vanguard of the next
Wu Jo-I, who attends Shin Chien University in Taipei, said her work begins with the perception of a scene. She then turns observed moments into geometric and structural forms. She won the Taiwan overall title for her accessory design, Pressure Lines Between
Taipei, Taiwan [28 October 2025] - At an awards ceremony held today at Taiwan’s Taipei 101 for the Real Leather. Stay Different. (RLSD) 2025 International Student Design Competition, judges crowned Jamie Unlu O’Grady, from the UK’s De Montfort
Taipei, August 30, 2025 – The 2025 Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition – Taiwan concluded today with a vibrant Awards Ceremony at Hana Space, Taipei, celebrating creativity, craftsmanship and sustainable design thinking.
Now in its sixth year, Real Leather. Stay Different. returns to Taiwan—celebrating a vibrant legacy of craftsmanship and forward-thinking design. As the competition closes we look to the final event, we're excited to announce this year’s panel brings
To inspire the younger generation to explore the creative potential of leather design, the organisers of the Competition - The Leather & Hide Council of America (L&HCA) and The Taiwanese International Leather Association (TILA) - recently visited nine
The 2024 Real Leather. Stay Different. Taiwan Award ceremony celebrates green trends through leather design. The winners of the Real Leather. Stay Different. Taiwan Region Student Design Competition were announced at an awards ceremony and runway show at
Welcome to The Annual, a celebration of the 2022 Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competitions.
Yu-Shan Chien is from Taipei, Taiwan and is currently studying Fashion Design at Shih Chien University. She chose to promote the idea of reusing waste leather and views it as rousing the leather and titled her project Trace Back to the Origin in mandarin to
Pei Yan recently graduated from Shih Chien University in Taiwan where he majored in Fashion Design. He describes his design style as a fusion of avant-garde and eerie creations. His project Gestation drew inspiration from the experiences and processes of
Chih-Chia Lee is a fourth year Fashion Design student at Shih Chien University in Taiwan. She has been studying fashion design for a total of seven years. Inspired by the Amis, the aboriginal ethnic group of Taiwan, the bags silhouette is based on the
Kheng Yao, born in Johor, Malaysia, is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in fashion design in Taiwan. Kheng Yao's work, Tafoni, is inspired by and named after the natural phenomenon of Tafoni rock formations. Tafoni are formed through geological