International

WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

The Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition 2022, in association with our friends at ArtsThread, has now closed. Chosen amongst almost 400 entries, this year’s International Category Winners have been decided by our panel of judges:

Accessories Winner- Gianluca Ambrosini, The Pouch Shopping Bag

Apparel Winner- Gal Benjamin, Alexithymia

Footwear Winner- Anna Melegh, Haute Couture Trash

And thanks to all of your votes, the People’s Choice Category Winner who will be joining the above finalist in the International Final Event for the chance to win the Overall Winner title is:

People’s Choice Category- Lior Weinberg, Paradox of Fashion

Congratulations to our Category Winners, and stay tuned for more updates on the Final Event.

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2022 CATEGORY WINNERS

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Explore all the shortlisted entries below:

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

“More than 100 billion items of clothing, worn on average just seven times, are thrown away annually, taking 10s if not hundreds of years to biodegrade.”

Meet the Judges

CHRISTOPHER KOERBER

Managing Director, HUGO BOSS

Throughout the course of his career, Christopher Koerber has become known as an innovative, big-picture thinker, a strong cross-functional collaborator, and a powerful motivator and mentor who raises the performance of diverse, global teams. He has always championed sustainability and the importance of individual achievement toward the greater good. Christopher has spent most of his professional life in the fashion industry, most recently in senior executive roles at PVH Corp for Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger before his current role at HUGO BOSS. He excels in dynamic, fast-paced environments, describing himself as “forward-thinking and product-obsessed with a sixth sense for monitoring trends.

ROSIE WOLLACOTT PHILLIPS

Group Sustainability Manager, Mulberry

With over 10 years of experience at Mulberry, Rosie is a pioneer for change and improvement across the entire sustainability spectrum. She coordinates Mulberry's Corporate Social Responsibility activities to ensure that the company meets its commitment to “make a positive difference to its people, environment, and the communities it works in". Rosie was recently named in the annual Walpole Power List as one of five Future-proofers (“Guardians of brand legacy, future-proofing businesses with sustainable initiatives) in its 50 Most Influential People in British Luxury and is a member of edie's 2020 30 Under 30 group of sustainability leaders. She is also an advisory board member for the Sustainable Leather Foundation.

MIKE ADLER

Fashion Stylist, ADB Agency

Mike works for leading celebrities, brands, fashion magazines and some of the world’s most iconic photographers. His expertise and connections with many Haute Couture brands has given him a unique eye and a style celebrities yearn for. Across a career spanning 20 years, Mike has attended to the style of Josh OConnor, Maisie Williams, Elizabeth Hurley, Emma Corrin and Monica Bellucci, among many others. What he loves about leather is that it crosses many fashion trends.

EMILY OMESI

2021 International Competition Winner

Emily is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She won the 2021 competition with her stunning and provocative leather jacket design, ‘Bacterial Genetics’. As the global winner, Emily had her design professionally made and featured on the cover of iconic fashion mag Rollacoaster. She now works for Oscar de la Renta.

STEPHEN SOTHMANN

Chair, President of the L&HCA

Steve is the president of Leather and Hide Council of America (L&HCA) and is passionate about the use of leather as the material of choice, stylish, durable and iconic, that stands in the face of fast fashion. It is about reaching out to tomorrow’s designers - the ones that are going to be making decisions in the fashion houses, and ultimately shape our tomorrows.

Prizes

The category winners and an overall winner will see their design professionally made and promoted in a capsule collection, as well as taking home the trophy and featuring in the RLSD 2022 coffee table book.

Slow Style. Fast Fashion. Or both?

Almost half of the world’s leather hides, created by our ever-growing demand for fast-food – burgers and milkshakes, are just thrown away every year. Our student design competition puts some of this waste to use.

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Learning Materials

Want to learn more about how using leather cuts waste, landfill and carbon? Or about its durability, versatility and timeless style? Download our educational materials.