What first attracted you to using leather for your designs?
Leather is a strong and durable material and it offers something that other materials don’t: its natural characteristics. Its uniqueness is given by its own transformation, which over time highlights its natural and particular marks.
Do you have any design inspirations that influence your work?
As a school of thought, the Bauhaus embodies the way I try to approach design. I believe that fashion, as a discipline of applied design, must always find a balance between creativity and saleability, taking care of the functionality of garments while communicating something of the times in which we live. The Bauhaus represented the purity of forms, the pragmatic nature of design and the way all this translates into fashion.
Is there something within your country’s design or fashion culture that you think makes it unique?
I am Italian but I had the opportunity to study abroad and I deliberately decided to come back to Italy to finish my studies in fashion. I am proud to be “Made in Italy”, and I believe that for a person who has the same passion as me, being Italian is an advantage. More specifically, I am Neopolitan, and my region and my people are a source of continuous inspiration for me. A city that over the centuries has welcomed and has been dominated by many cultures, without ever losing its identity. This has made it a city full of contrasts, one city of “a thousand colours”.
How do you think leather will adapt to a fashion industry increasingly focused on sustainability?
Leather is a by-product of the meat industry, otherwise destined to be an object of disposal techniques that have a great impact on the environment. The tanning industry, on the other hand, recovers it and transforms it into a material with a very high added value and multiple intended uses: one of these is precisely the fashion industry. So, in this sense, leather is a material that fully meets the demands of sustainability.
What does participating in this competition mean to your career as a designer?
This competition allowed me to learn a lot about the leather I used, because I followed it every step, from the idea to the realization. Thanks to the skills I have developed, I currently work in Leather Goods for a brand belonging to the LVMH group.
Josslyn Shi from California College of Art has been crowned Overall Winner of the Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition at a glittering final event held at the U.S. Embassy in London.
If you're after a designer bag that is a better long-term investment than a classic car, take note
In this month's Street Seen, Meet Otto, an aspiring photographer from North London!
Once you’ve crafted your leather design, you may well want to give it some kind of finishing.
Meet one of our 45 shortlisted individuals in the running to become the next leader in leather fashion.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Stay different with our monthly roundup, which includes the latest on leather fashion and sustainable features, competition news and more.
