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, leather has long been part of India’s making traditions. It is a material that responds to the maker and evolves with the wearer, carrying stories of use, skill and time.
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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
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 The Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition has launched the careers of exceptional design talent from around the
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, 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
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.
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’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’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 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
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
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,