Greetings from Moscow, where elegant and made in Italy products are appreciated more than elsewhere. The spring edition of Obuv Mir Kohzi ended on Friday, March 17, with a reassuring balance sheet. Russia confirmed itself as an important market for the companies that have focused their sales strategies there. Local buyers went in search of...
“Leather enhances Italian craftsmanship more than rubber. But there is a lack of personnel”. These are the two sides of a medal that, after a long period of dullness, is once again gaining value with the return of the formal shoe, that has turned the spotlight back on the world of leather. This is confirmed...
“Production problems? More in Europe than in China”. It’s the comment made by Massimiliano Rossi (in photo), CEO of Zeis Excelsa, company that distributed 1 million pairs of shoes during last year. The latter owns the brands Cult, Docksteps, Virtus Palestre and Oxs and has the license for brand Alberto Guardiani. It employs 60 people. “Shipping timelines...
The start of 2023 is suffering from the slow Chinese market: weak demand tied to non-brilliant production. US and Brazilian leather have been impacted because China and Hong Kong represent the main export markets. Thus, any variation generates consequences on the overall context. Additionally, the weight of Italy isn’t to be disregarded, as it’s the […]
It was January 2023 when the state of Oregon proposed a law to ban kangaroo leather and the local press asked itself how Nike (which has its HQ in Oregon) would react. Meanwhile, back in February 2021, we wrote of how we hoped that Nike, along with other large sporting brands, wouldn’t fall into just the […]
It is almost a sign of destiny, jokes Christy Plott, that on the eve of the Eastern California District Court ruling she was among the World Wildlife Day speakers. Judge Kimberley Mueller was about to declare California’s ban on alligator and crocodile leather and products invalid. And she, the fourth generation of the tannery American...
Working with leather requires multiple skills. But even today it is sometimes irreverent creativity that makes the difference. The story of Robert Mercier, creator of the leather dress modelled as if it were a peplum on Zendaya, shown at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, represents a point of arrival and in this case a...
The German retail apocalypse is upon us. In the last two weeks a concerning domino effect has been set off by statements of crisis and the shutdown of many fashion and footwear retailers. Thousands of employees could be without a job. A crisis that has a close impact on Italy too, especially for the footwear...
In Los Angeles, in an unusually non-fashion week date, on the evening of March 10 (not coincidentally on the eve of the Oscars) we saw the Versace that will be. Donatella presented the FW 23/24 collection at the Pacific Design Center (West Hollywood), showcasing a “strong woman” who wears alligator-print leather coats or combines elegant […]
Style guide to Phoebe Philo? “Loro Piana has never had a real creative director so, for the moment, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Damien Bertrand, CEO of the brand from November 2021, replies to the rumours. Bertrand (pictured in white frame) points out that the brand has a Loro Piana Studio “with a very talented […]
CafèNoir’s supply chain: global and flexible. Simply put: it uses producers all over the world, which change depending on fashion trends and consumption. Founded in 1992 in San Miniato Basso (Pisa), the company produces shoes, handbags and leather accessories, apparel. The latter, with the introduction of the women’s line in 2014, transformed CafèNoir into a...
350 candidates showed up for 60 jobs offered by Desa’s new leather goods manufacturing site. A case that would discredit the idea that manufacturing companies in Italy are struggling to recruit workers. In this sense though, it was probably Desa’s decision to open the site in Poppi (Arezzo), near the Tuscan leather goods’ districts, to impact […]
As per tradition, on Sunday March 12, i.e. the day before the start of APLF (Asia Pacific Leather Fair), ICT’s Annual Meeting (left photo), aka the International Council of Tanners, was held. An important occasion to take stock of a complex economic situation. And not only, since the renewal of the presidency was celebrated, office […]
The Prada group is running fast. 2022 accounts have exceeded expectations: 4.2 billion euros in revenues and net profit of 465 million euros, +58% on 2021. A real bang, solid and reassuring to the point that, in 2023, the group could already reach 4.5 billion euros in revenues. Well in advance, therefore, to the medium-term […]
Game (almost) over. The Californian ban on crocodile leather and products and alligator is invalid. This sentence by Kimberley Mueller, Sacramento district judge, stated: the commerce of exotic leather in California remains legal, as per US federal law and CITES. This judge (in the foto), decided this way on the appeal made by the Louisiana...
There is a thought current that wants to present recycled plastic as the future of sustainability. An interesting thought, but one to be handled with care. Because the fashion industry, along with investigative journalists, are raising many doubts on both the green quality of the material and the recovery chain. All doubts that push us...
Let’s start with the numbers. 20 craftsmen and technicians are needed to make the Bale Bag by Loro Piana. And very skilled ones at that: to sew the handles by hand with due skill, for example, you need workers with years of experience. Not only that. These craftsmen use 25 tools to assemble 60 different...
A collection that is a tribute to the company’s history and, at the same time, a bridge to its future. Because it launches it towards an updated identity as a contemporary brand. There are seven models and seven colours in “7 generations” by Amato Daniele, the Fall-Winter 2023/24 collection of the brand made by Leu...
“Reshoring? No thanks”. Giuseppe Bettinelli (in photo), entrepreneur leading La Compagnia delle Pelli, believes that the price difference between producing in Asia and Italy is still too wide. At least for his reference segment. Created in 1993 and specialized in managing licenses in the leather goods’ industry (currently Baldinini, Harmont&Blaine and Ungaro), La Compagnia delle Pelli is […]
The war in Tigray has caused the destruction of the Sheba Leather Industries, leather cluster that exported shoes, handbags, and accessories. News come from the Confederation of Ethiopian Unions (CETU), reported by newspaper The Reporter. Sheba is one of the 16 companies part of the Endowment Fund for Rehabilitation of Tigray conglomerate, previously owned by […]
