We first met Anna Melegh in 2022, when her surrealist design Haute Couture Trash won the Footwear Category of the Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition. Inspired by household waste during lockdown, her entry challenged conventions around fashion, function and sustainability.
Since then, Anna has continued to blur the boundaries between art and design, gaining international recognition, exhibiting new collections and even branching into film and product design. In a full-circle moment, she returned to RLSD in 2024 – this time as a member of the international judging panel.
Read the full interview below:
How has your design philosophy evolved since participating in Real Leather. Stay Different.?
Since the competition, I have a clearer idea of what my style is. I always had a sense that I was more leaning towards surrealism and functional objects that have a twist either by the pattern cutting or mimicking different textures but are all about tricking the viewer. Stopping them to think, is this a shoe or something else?
I don’t enjoy making regular shoes like a Derby or an Oxford unless there is something different going on with them and challenges me. I love problem solving and being on the line between fashion and art.
We have so many items made in the fashion world, but all too often they look similar or they copy each other. So whenever I do a new shoe, I aim for something different and more complex.
Have any new opportunities or collaborations come your way as a result?
After the competition, my first animation was selected into the top 5 fashion film categories at the FASHIONCLASH Festival in Maastricht.
In 2023 I received the British Footwear Development Grant which allowed me to learn hand-welded shoe-making at Carreducker. This has always been a dream of mine, as it is a very specialist skill and I am fascinated by the various footwear constructions out there. I also launched a series of greeting cards in 2024 which are being sold via the not just a shop. I gave an interview to Glamour Hungary which was published in their 2024 Spring-Summer Book and my shoes were also featured in the magazine. Some of my shoes were also selected for the 2024 “Shoes” calendar and were exhibited at the Shoe Fantasies exhibition in Pécs, Hungary.
In 2024 I also received the Kozma Lajos applied art scholarship which allowed me to create a series of new boots which were exhibited in Budapest in 2025 March. They are also part of the Virtualshoemuseum now.
I also collaborated with Champagne Patrick Boivin on a packaging design for their limited edition Blanc de Blancs champagne.
Looking back, what did the experience teach you, both creatively and professionally?
Alongside meeting with fellow finalists and of course the judges from the industry, this experience helped me to value my work even more. I finished my MA in a rushed and stressed mode and I wasn’t sure if my work was good enough and if I should continue working with shoes.
Being a finalist in this prestigious competition was the icing on my ‘10 years of studies cake’ I needed to enter the industry.
What have you been doing since? Can you tell us more about that?
Alongside the competitions and scholarships I was working at Christian Louboutin as a Care & Repair Coordinator until October 2024 and I had a bit of a break and completed my new boots as part of the Kozma Lajos scholarship.
What role does sustainability play in your work today, and has your perspective on leather changed after the competition?
Sustainability is always in my mind when thinking about creating new shoes or even with my greeting card design, they are printed on recycled paper and are fully recyclable.
My professional role had a big focus on prolonging products’ lives, this gave me an insight into what could go wrong with a shoe – so now when I’m working on my designs, I always think how to create long-lasting items that can be also repaired if necessary and how to maintain their life.
I have way too many ideas I would like to explore, using more off-cut leather waste from factories but also upcycling unusual materials to create new objects.
Have you explored new techniques or materials that have influenced your designs?
I continue exploring how I can create various new textures with leather, whether making a fur-like look or as in my sandwich shoes making salad or cheese-looking leather. Because of the lack of workshop space, I started to experiment again with upcycling paper waste and garments.
In what ways has your creative vision developed over time?
I have rediscovered the creative spirit and problem-solving mindset I was exposed to during my high school studies. Our workshop was very limited, but my tutors were operating on a can-do attitude and if we-can’t-buy-it-we-can-make-it mode. This is something I had to utilize now that I am assembling shoes in a tiny flat in Central London.
I got to a point where I could combine the best of the many wisdoms I received from all the tutors I encountered during my 10 years of studies.
Has your perspective on fashion, craftsmanship, or design philosophy shifted since then?
I learnt how to make shoes and accessories, but I truly admire people who can finish footwear to an impeccable standard. Like the people making made-to-measure footwear or working in British shoe factories – as we have a saying in Hungary, they have gold in their hands. I am leaning towards a slower and more high-quality fashion, creating one of pieces and working with stylists. I see myself more as an artist making one of shoes for display, photoshoot or stage. Show stopper pieces, and working more with printed media and illustration.
Are you still using leather as a material?
Yes, leather is still the most common material I use in my work, simply because of its versatility and the various types and finishes it exists.
How has your process changed, from concept to execution, since your RLSD win?
I focus more on drawing now, exploring various ideas on paper, and experimenting with leather afterwards. I feel I also have a big focus on illustration in general and animation to bring life to my shoes.
How do you balance creativity and craftsmanship when working with leather?
I push the boundaries when working on my patterns and the materials but doing the hand-welted footwear course at Carreducker opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me of hand-welted shoes with unique uppers. Creative vision is important but I prefer making objects that are both visually striking but can be worn.
What challenges have you faced when experimenting with leather, and how did you overcome them?
The lack of my workshop is one big issue, I have to hand skive everything and be careful when deciding on the leather type as my machine can’t take all thicknesses.
What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects or collaborations you can share?
I would love to have a studio in London, that would be a big step for me and allow me to create more – so that’s one big goal for 2025. My shoes got a lot of attention in the past, but as I have only one of each pair I no longer would like to lend those to preserve them in their best state. Having my own space would allow me to create new pieces and a few pairs of footwear for each style.
What advice would you give to emerging designers looking to work with leather?
You never know who you might work with, so apply for all the relevant competitions you can and network, network and network!
How do you see your work evolving in the next few years?
I would like to have a studio/workshop space and also experiment with more printing on leather and paper. I also see myself doing more animations alongside my shoes, they complement my work and bring life to them.
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