From Florence Italy during Pitti Uomo, this spontaneous podcast happened while walking to another appointment. I met Felipe Fiallo while the Italian shoe designer was discussing his collection.
I grabbed a tablet, then asked him to go over his footwear designs.
I was not familiar with Lineapelle, the Milan trade fair for luxury leather. For three days this massive gathering focuses on the real work of fashion, sourcing. Designers come here for the purpose of searching for the materials. The cavernous halls filled with suppliers big and small showing desired skins to clients.
After gathering my thoughts together, I had to hit the ground running. The public sees the fashion shows, the glitz and glamour of the industry. Lineapelle is where the real business starts. So many tanneries, different leathers, ways to stitch, number of pieces, quality of the skin. In one day after speaking to attendees and exhibitors I had the equivalent of a one-year university course from the best fashion university. Experienced professional colleagues explained many details involved in the transforming a skin component to a sought-after product. For not only small items, interior design requires a high degree knowledge and skillset. For instance, upholstery leather gets wrapped in order fit a living room sofa or car seat.
Leathers have different characteristics, various suppleness, grades. The dying techniques used to color skins can range from simple to complex. The process of pattern printing leather intrigued me. A designer used this practice to design a youthful collection shown on the Lineapelle runway.
Farmed animal skins are traced from beginning to finish. The sustainable aspects of using quality leather explained to me in one sentence, “A good leather endures.” Quality controls employed by brands and producers for certain products. I discussed the recent bag scandals. The “masstige” handbags made under questionable circumstances are not produced in the same factories as the more prestigious items. Expensive skin handbags are put together in closely monitor controlled conditions by experienced craftsmen. An alligator skin’s one-piece skin can cost thousand of dollars versus a cow skin which costs far less. As mentioned earlier, the stitching methods used for exotic leathers are more intricate.
After attending my first Lineapelle, I have a new appreciation for well-made leather products. Buy better!
That orange bag is ubiquitous. The most downloaded app in 2024 was the low priced Chinese shopping platform TEMU. The low priced products have proven a success with buyers in uncertain times. This past October the Shanghai giant recorded 52 million downloads in the US. Offering everything from fast fashion bags to cutlery, Temu has lured customers away from rivals Shein and Amazon with its cut throat pricing and marketing to young customers.
Everything disposable is the “New Black. ” Hyper consumption lives to fight another day.
From the Tribeca Film Festival there were more titles screening on the subjects of music and Climate Change.
Saddled with the description “Too Black, Too Fat,” this label would shadow the acclaimed singer for his entire career.
Drew Porter pulls back the sparkling curtain, presenting a story of a singer whose zig zag rise to stardom did not come at a price, more from a silent suffering. Using archival footage with interviews from close friends, the documentary peels away the layers of Vandross move from a New York back-up singer ton the kids show Sesame Street, working with David Bowie and Bette Midler to becoming the top voice of RnB music. Luther: Never Too Much will inspire many to investigate Spotify.
After listening to the opening musical beats, I was hooked on yet another musical themed documentary. Anyone on the Spanish Isle of Ibiza during the summer knows Carl Craig. Form a set at one of the massive Beach Disco locales. The Detroit born techno music maestro is the center of Desire: The Carl Craig Story. As a major figure in the Motor City Music scene the DJ and director Jean-Cosme Delaloye embark on a personal trip beginning in industrial ruins to the global party going capitals.
Slave Play. Not A Movie. A Play is one of those works with the subtlety of a 10lb brick in the face. Jeremy O. Harris goes behind the curtain to show the word his process for creating his controversial sexually charged Tony Nominated drama Slave Play. Many writers are great manipulators, able to play with emotions with a naughty wordsmith veneer. Many will have a problem dramatising a 280-year-old tragedy being reduced to carnal fetish. On the other hand, some will praise Harris’s vision. The world would be a boring place if everyone had the opinion.
The continued drought in Kenya is causing havoc on communities. Last year I screened a film on the violence caused by lack of water for farmers. This year another entry came on my screen, Searching for Amani. Once again, it is a story involving conflict over scare resources. Nicole Gormley and Debra Arko’s camera accompany a minor’s journey to understanding the reason for his father’s murder while trying to understand the fast-changing world around him.
There is a part of Nairobi Kenya where the raw Earth is no longer visible. The area is covered with fabric strips from discarded clothing dumped by global clothing brands in the capital neighbourhood. This shocking scene encapsulates fashions footprint on the environment. Japanese fashion designer Yuima Nakazato traveled to the African nation to see the piles of excess clothing waste. Kossai Sekine’s makes an environmental statement on how Climate Change consequences have been compartmentalized by consumers and the fashion business in his film Dust to Dust.
Tribeca Film Festival ran from June 6th to 16th.
Today, I got back my repaired Nudie Jeans. That was fast, the hole got repaired. Better than going out buying a new pair. Here is hoping these last a few more years with a lot of wear.
To buy a pair of jeans or use the free repair service, the Nudie Jeans store is located at Memhardstrasse 7, Berlin.
Green Tech Berlin arrived with 200 exhibitors showcasing products and services. The two day fair is a place to learn about products and services tackling carbon zero and sustainability challenges with fresh ideals.
German automotive company presented a mini concept car made from recycled and 3-D printed materials. The 240hp was made by twelve interns in the Neckarsulm factory over a six-month period.
Chinese designer Ou Yanshan had Balenciaga inspired piece made from recovered disposed materials.
The range of recycled sources and the way they are designed always excites me. Vietnamese brand Gia Studios showed off white transparent jackets made from casaba melons.
Germany’s Lufthansa Group is pivoting to becoming them most eco-friendly airline. Europe’s largest airline concern has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050 with modern fleet renewals, using Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Power-to-Liquid Fuels and Green Fares.
Green Tech is a travel fair held in Berlin, London, Los Angeles and Singapore.
Another Nudie Jeans post, The denim brand is a staple of my wardrobe. I met the founders in Berlin at Bread and Butter in the early 2000’s. The label has always stood for sustainable. I got my first pair in 2012, I’ve been a fan ever since. The Repair Bar in the Hackersham Market Store shows the level of commitment from the Swedish fashion label. The crotch came apart, probably wear and tear from riding the bike. After my drop-off, I can expect the repaired jeans back in six weeks or perhaps I may trade them in for new jeans.
At Milan Fashion Week in the HUB, start-up label 0331 had a display in the new designers section. The Milan creative collectives started the brand with sustainable practices, up-cycling used denim to new forms.
At the 96th Academy Awards artist and filmmaker Donata Wenders wore a one of kind Cruba Berlin VCR Tape Dress to great acclaim from the global fashion press on the ultimate Hollywood Red Carpet.
On this reposted podcast from 2023 we spoke with fashion designer Mira von der Osten along with actress Eugenia Kuzmina about the material and production of this unique creation.
Brightway from Osaka produces luxurious sneakers made from Japanese leather. The three generation footwear makers have a philosophy: “A Pair to Love Even After 10 Years.” Clic below to watch the Before Tacky podcast interview