Design Competition

AFRICA LEATHER AND LEATHER PRODUCTS INSTITUTE (ALLPI), IN COLLABORATION WITH THE LEATHER & HIDE COUNCIL OF AMERICA, LAUNCH THE 4TH EDITION OF THE RLSD AFRICA TALENT LEATHER DESIGN SHOWCASE 2026

NAIROBI, AFRICA | FEBRUARY 2026 The 4th Edition of the RLSD Africa Talent Leather Design Showcase has officially been launched, reaffirming Africa’s growing influence in shaping the future of responsible, design-led, and sustainable fashion. Anchored within the global Real Leather. Stay Different. campaign, the 2026 edition builds on six years of worldwide engagement that has reached thousands of designers…

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GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES AWAIT: THE REAL LEATHER. STAY DIFFERENT. INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION 2026 OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES IN VIETNAM

The Real Leather. Stay Different. (RLSD) 2026 competition has officially launched in Vietnam. Far more than just a design contest, this is an opportunity for Vietnamese talent to engage with the international fashion scene and build careers on a global

Where are they now? RLSD alumni making a mark in fashion

Where are they now? RLSD alumni making a mark in fashion The Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition has launched the careers of exceptional design talent from around the

RLSD 2025 Thailand Regional Apparel Category Winner.

Thailand Apparel Category Winners, Phanteera wowed judges with design Europa’s Embrace, draws inspiration from Greek mythology - specifically the tale of Europa and the white bull.

Wu Jo-I, Taiwan Overall Winner & Host Nation Representative

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

Lusaka to Host RLSD Africa Talent Leather Design Showcase 2025 Alongside the 18th Africa Leather Value Chain Forum

The Real Leather. Stay Different. Africa Talent Leather Design Showcase 2025 (Design Exhibition: 26–28 November 2025, Runway Showcase: 28 November 2025) will be held alongside the 18th Africa Leather Value Chain Forum.

Nguyẽn Lan Anh, International People’s Choice Winner

Lan Anh said of her People’s Choice winning design HORN-TO-HOPE: “It unites the strength of the rhino with the resilience of the orchid to symbolise endurance through adversity. Rhinos, threatened by poaching, and orchids, thriving in harsh conditions,

Sara Morandini, International Accessories Category Winner

Sara’s project, Ombrage, which took the accessories title, is a unisex collection of leather goods, footwear and jewellery inspired by the primal forces of nature – water, air, earth and

Islam Nashef. International Apparel Category Winner

Islam’s collection, Shields, took the apparel title. The designs range from structured, tailored silhouettes that emphasise the body’s shape to looser, more fluid forms that incorporate supportive

Jamie Unlu O’Grady. International Overall Winner and International Footwear Category Winner

Jamie took the overall title with a collection of shoes that that was both revolutionary and highly marketable. He said: “SubTraction reimagines footwear as a modular system - personal, purposeful and circular. Bold in its rejection of convention, the

Winner’s ambition to take ground-breaking modular design to market

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

Is the future of leather hidden in red earth?

Fashion is hungry for sustainability. It celebrates circular design, experiments with new biomaterials and promotes heritage craft as a marketing tool. Yet one of the most circular, heritage-rich tanning traditions, still alive in parts of southern Africa,

From bark to clay to pods, vegetable tanning offers a model of circularity the industry has yet to embrace.

In a Botswana village, a pot of crushed bark and roots simmers over an open fire. A cowhide, scraped clean, is lowered into the dark liquid. Over the next few days, it will absorb the plant’s chemistry, transforming into leather. This scene, repeated for

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